I was a dancer for over 20 years.

For me, it's not an option to not be in shape and to not work out. I just always try to make time for it and strength train four or five days a week, and I'm always eating clean, so - don't get me wrong, though - I love a good pizza and some wings every now and then.

One thing that I'm super fortunate of - I grew up in a house where it was all about health and fitness. My dad was a wrestler; he was a boxer. He's always been into working out, and so I was the only kid in the first grade that got carrot sticks at school instead of chips.

I feel very fortunate to be the face of the women's division on 'Smackdown Live' and defend that championship any opportunity that I get.

I didn't come from wrestling, and I never wrestled outside of WWE. So I'm kind of a homegrown talent. I learned everything from the performance center and NXT.

People say that wrestling is not ballet. But as a former ballerina, I'd like to see some of these men put on a pair of tights and go do what a dancer does. Because it's a lot! It's definitely difficult.

I've done wrestling, and I've done dance, and I would say they're both equally hard on the body.

I love to be talky and tell everyone how good I am.

In the NFL, you're part of a team. You work together to win. Being a WWE Superstar is all about me. No team. I'm special.

There were a hundred people in my graduating class. I wouldn't have changed it for the world.

I love the small-town vibe.

It's just surreal that I was the first Ms. Money in the Bank.

I wouldn't have traded my career path for anything.

I'm game to make a fool of myself.

It's cool to show different sides of myself and my character. I feel like not that many people get to do that.

Gosh, the fans always have something to say. They're never happy with anything.

I never like to do anything little. Everything I do, I need it to be big and above and beyond.

I want people to know that I'm getting where I'm going or how I'm getting there - by myself, through my hard work, and nothing more.

I was obsessed with Miss Elizabeth when I was a little girl.

To be honest, I came up with the Carmella character completely on my own.

I just love the Carmella character. It's so over the top. It's so extra. She's not afraid to be herself and say what's on her mind, and I think a lot of people can relate to that.

I, in my real life, wish I could be like Carmella a little bit more.

My body isn't made to be thrown on or get hit with ladders.

I won Money in the Bank twice, and then I cashed it in to become Champion. I was Champion. No one can ever take that away from me.

My name will always go down in history as the first Miss Money in the Bank. It's so cool!

I feel like I have this really cool journey that I get to show all these different sides to Carmella.

I can joke around and say I look and do the best, but honestly, I just feel like, whatever situation I'm in, I want to do the best at it and keep improving.

Being a voice for my community is something that I don't take lightly.

I wasn't a masculine kid; I was pretty effeminate.

I'll have men, or I'll have women say that I'll never be a woman because I don't menstruate, or because I'm not made up like Kim Kardashian. So in that sense, I use makeup for a little bit of confidence. But for the most part, day-to-day, I wear makeup if it feels good.

I don't need to rely on my concealer to have a sense of myself. I should be able to go out without my concealer, without my makeup, and still be able to be joyful.

Regardless of whether you're in a gay or heterosexual relationship, you're going to go through your ups and downs.

I'm a show girl at heart.

As someone who's visible, I feel it's part of my responsibility to have a voice for trans people because the fight is not necessarily on television. The fight is every day.

In my early 20s, I set out to kind of find myself. At that time, if you were different or if you ever questioned your gender identity or sexual orientation, society kind of put you in the gay club.

I always try to think about what I can do to let people know that I'm just like everyone else. I have two girls here at home I'm trying to raise. I'm trying to be a good stepmom. I'm trying to stay fit and be a good model and break ground in the acting world. I'm working that same struggle every other woman is trying to work.

When I was a kid, I was really quiet.

Couples Therapy' is pretty big for me because it's opening the door to a new audience - a hip-hop following, which I feel is a bit more judgmental toward the LGBT community.

I want to just be able to act and be like the girl next door or the cute babysitter or the busy mom who's fun or who knows, maybe something super dramatic, somebody who's really insecure and angry.

I like to jump around, and it takes a long time for people to catch up to me sometimes.

For me, I've tried to always live in the moment and I don't think that much about what is law, what is written down.

All you have to do is respect me. Use the right words. If you don't consider me a woman, then use trans woman. Whatever works for you. But don't try to use something that's a slur or something that's meant to degrade who we are.

And I come from a very proud Hispanic family. We're proud to be Latino. We're proud to be Peruvian. And my dad's side is proud to be Puerto Rican.

I don't want to reclaim the word 'tranny.' I don't want anyone to refer to me as 'tranny.'

I want to be respected as a woman, as a mother, as a wife. That's why I transition.

I've always had a 'stand up for the people' type of personality.

I want to inspire strength. I also want to inspire people to create their own happy reality.

My family is very supportive, lucky for me.

I know during my transition it was difficult for me to stop believing I would be stuck unhappy forever, but that's not true. Physical changes take a while but internal feelings of changing and finding your peace can take way longer.

I don't dedicate my whole life to being a trans advocate. But I do believe that me, and how I represent myself and how I am honest and open to everybody, I do feel like I'm doing something for the trans community.