I am blessed to perform in the studio and on the concert stage.
What I look for in a project or partner is integrity and character; I love the concept of family entertainment and crosses over the generations, where you can sit kids with their grandparents and everyone has a good time. Those are the qualities that I want to bring to viewers.
I pretty much came out of the womb singing. I think I sang all the time.
I can't sing, perform, do anything apart from Christ. I have no power or strength of my own.
I want to live outside of the box, and I definitely don't want to put God in a box, so I want to be able to dream big and kind of let that go of my small-mindedness.
I am really committed to my faith journey, and I am committed to my family. My husband and I have been married for almost 30 years, and we homeschool our kids. We have a different working-out-of the-box family, but we do make it work, obviously with God's grace, and we are very grateful for that.
I've done a variety of projects in different areas of the entertainment industry.
I really like worship music. It settles my soul. Gets me back on track. The lyrics are almost like a prayer, so it's my go-to.
I was doing a Broadway musical called 'Smile' with Howard Ashman and Marvin Hamlisch in 1984/5 when it abruptly closed. Howard was in the middle of pre-production for 'The Little Mermaid,' so he kindly invited all the girls in our cast to audition for the film.
My husband has a gift for reaching out to people in need. I always look over and see him connecting to someone who needs to talk or needs some support.
Homeschooling has given us some wonderful flexibility and some great life experiences, especially with our son.
Connecting with the kids is a great joy for me. I love meeting them backstage or at a signing event. I am overwhelmed when I meet kids who struggle with terminal illnesses.
I love working for Disney! They are my family.
I was very flattered when Disney Junior reached out and invited me to come voice Ariel for this special primetime edition of 'Sofia the First.' As the parent myself, I really appreciate the positive messages that this animated series is trying to put out there.
I remember when John Lasseter called me back in the late 1990s to personally invite me to come be the voice of Barbie in 'Toy Story 2.'
The thing that I enjoy about animation is the fact that it is unbridled, and there are no boundaries; when you are in the room, you don't have to focus on your clothing, make-up, hair, your choreography or your blocking; you really do have total freedom.
When I do my concerts, you have got to think about everything else; so you have got to think about your gown, your hair, your body, and how you present yourself on stage.
Anything that has to do with Disney and Pixar, I am on board with. That is where my heart and family are. So when they call, I jump.
I grew up with 'Cinderella.' So that was my go-to Disney film, definitely. It was princess-related, and coming from a smaller area in Illinois and wanting to do something greater than myself in Broadway, that was a film that I could really relate to.
What we try to do at Disney and through Disney character voices is really maintain the integrity of our classic characters at all costs. So Ariel needs to be me for every project, and if there are any other Ariels floating around out there, it's not necessarily Disney.
