Tia Mowry opened up about the pressures of being a child star.
The Sister, Sister actress, 46, talked about the anxiety she felt when she was a working teen.
‘I think during Sister, Sister days was when I first had bouts of anxiety when it came to being in front of an audience,’ she recalled.
‘Being on set when there’s an audience, like right in front of you. Talk about shaking in your bones. What if the line that is scripted for you is not funny?,’ she told People in a recent interview.
The sitcom ran for six seasons from 1994 to 1999 and starred Tia’s twin sister Tamera Mowry-Housley, Jackée Harry and Tim Reid.
Tia Mowry opened up about the pressures of being a child star. The Sister, Sister actress, 46, talked about the anxiety she felt when she was a young performer. Seen here October 11, 2024
‘You’re performing live in front of an audience and you know you’re a kid … if you’re going to get a good grade on this test, you’re worrying about boys,’ she continued.
‘You’re worried about standing on your mark. You’re worried about how you look. You know, there’s just a lot going on.’
She went on to say she eventually got used to it and also over it.
‘You kind of get used to it, performing, feeling nervous,’ she said but what really helped her was ‘learning the why.’
‘Like, why am I feeling this way? Sometimes you won’t always have that answer, but being intentional and mindful about why this anxiety is coming up for you has also been helpful for me,’ she shared.
‘What helps me also is visualization. So I will visualize myself doing what I’m doing now, and it’ll help my brain kind of connect with my behavior, and I’ll feel better about the situation.’
Another unpleasant part of being an actor, and a child actor especially is the rejection that comes with that field.
‘I think it never gets easy or easier,’ she admitted. ‘But I was really, really young. And I remember I had tried out for The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. I believe the character was Ashley, and I didn’t get it and I just felt dejected.’
But time taught her a valuable lesson there too.
‘I realized that if I wasn’t rejected, then I wouldn’t have been able to do Sister, Sister. You just have to trust the process and trust the journey and trust that what is for you is for you, and what is for you will never miss you.’
Sister Sister ran for six seasons from 1994 to 1999 and starred Tia’s t win sister Tamera Mowry-Housley, Jackée Harry and Tim Reid
Tia’s new reality TV show My Next Act meets her where her life is now – moving on from her divorce from Cory Hardict and not being close to her twin sister Tamera anymore.
In a promo for the show, an emotional Tia drops her kids Cree, 13, and Cairo, six off with their father and then breaks down.
‘Being alone has been the most challenging part of my divorce. It’s times like this when I feel and wish that my sister and I were still close and I could pick up the phone and call her,’ she shared in an interview confessional, adding, ‘But that’s just not where we are right now.’
The star, who rose to fame in the late 90s alongside Tamera on their sitcom Sister Sister, did not explain what has driven a wedge between her and her identical sibling.
Her new show premiered October 4 on We TV, and it follows the mom of two as she gets back into the dating pool post divorce.
‘I think during Sister, Sister days was when I first had bouts of anxiety when it came to being in front of an audience,’ she recalled. Seen here October 11, 2024
‘Being on set when there’s an audience, like right in front of you. Talk about shaking in your bones’
‘What if the line that is scripted for you is not funny?,’ she told People in a recent interview
In the first episode of the show, cameras follow Tia as she goes on her first date.
‘The date went really good,’ she said in a confessional. ‘I mean, listen, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, didn’t they go on a blind date? Who knows? I might find my Prince Harry!’
Whether or not she gets that kind of fairy tale ending, Tia is happy she took the first step.
‘I will say, if he doesn’t call me for a second date, which I am open to, so be it. I’m proud of myself for at least being open enough to go on a blind date,’ she said.
