She told Good Housekeeping magazine at the time: “My life was rocked to the core. And I felt guilty because I was angry at God. Lance was not there for me to share [my success] with. And I was thinking, ‘Well, I don’t need this. I’d rather have my brother back.'”
The star recently paid tribute to her late mother, Rita, who passed away in 2018 following a long battle with a heart condition at the age of 69 and noted how she used her role in “The Tiger Rising” to pay “homage” to Rita who had worked as a schoolteacher.
She said: “Everything to me, when it comes to doing these kinds of films, is a homage to my mom. It’s what I know she would like, it’s what I know. I know she would want to always encourage children to be the best that they can. I’ve watched my mom say the right things to students to change their outlook and change their direction, you know? Sometimes it just takes a couple more to give them food for thought and they make the decision and then they make it happen.”
