Gabrielle Reilly: Do you have a quote or philosophy you could share to help aspiring models and actors/actresses?
Amy Weber: Do what you love and the money will follow
Gabrielle Reilly: Congratulations on your pregnancy! How exciting, you will make a great Mom (or Mum as we say in Australia). When is your due date? Are you going to find out if it's a little boy or little girl?
Amy Weber: Thank you! I am having a boy and a girl and we are due in July- if I make it that far! Twins have a tendency to come early.
Gabrielle Reilly: I know you had a turbulent time with your parents. Your story sort of reminds me of a story Peggy Noonan tells in her book about Ronald Reagan (she was his incredible speech writer). Reagan, coming from a small town in Illinois, wouldn't tell his Dad he was going off to Chicago to be a radio announcer because his Irish Catholic Dad would try to talk him out of it in fear that his son would go and fail and get hurt. Well the rest is history. I never understood that mentality though. It hurts far more as a child/teen to have a pre-emptive strike by your parents than it does to fail in the eyes of any other single individual in the world. That feeling of no matter what you did it, it would never be good enough. What advice would you give people who weren't raised with the sort of family that gets behind them and helps to take them to greater heights by mere emotional support?
Amy Weber: You just have to have faith in yourself and never let anyone (family included) tell you that you cannot achieve your dreams.
Gabrielle Reilly: You're obviously a reflective, deep thinker and as you prepare for parenthood are you running the mental check list on how you are going to parent?
Amy Weber: Yes, for sure.. I probably will just do the opposite of my parents! I think a child needs unconditional love. Toys are great but sometimes a child just needs you to wrap your arms around them and tell them that you love them.
Gabrielle Reilly: I am thankful you are writing a book for young people trying to break into the industry. There are many shysters/predators out there. Tell us about the book you have written? Would the book be appropriate for tweens (11 -13) or is your target audience a little bit older than that (I have parents asking me for advice with their daughters)?
Amy Weber: The book is called "An Insider's guide to making it in Show Business" and is applicable for all ages- even for parents. I had heard too many horror stories of people either not knowing where to start or being "taken" by scams or predators as you say, so I felt like there a true need for a book that demystified the business. I owned a modeling agency for 5 years and I gained such valuable information that I wanted to share along with my own personal experiences as an actress, model and producer myself. I am currently looking for a reputable publisher to team up with.
Gabrielle Reilly: Your sister has goats. aren't they cute!!!! We raised goats for fun when I was a child. I would walk them across our tennis court to listen to their hooves clip clop and pretend I was riding a horse. My parents would never let me ride because "it was too dangerous." Laugh, of course horse riding through oceans, rainforests and mountain-tops is the first thing I do when I travel around the world now (if I'm not riding elephants, camels or dog sleds). I helped deliver the kid goats and would bottle feed them. That was super cute with all the milk all around there little mouths. You were raised on a farm?
Amy Weber: Yes.. a small corn farm in Illinois, but I always brought home stray animals that I thought I could save. My niece has a wonderful backyard filled with horses and goats and a dog and a donkey.
Gabrielle Reilly: Well with wrestler, author, actress, songwriter, producer, and model credited to your name now what upcoming projects have we got to look forward to from you?
Amy Weber: I will continue to pursue my acting career as well as my producing career once I give birth and also pursue my singing endeavors. I never set limits on myself so who knows. You will just have to stay tuned! You can always find more information on my website.
