Tia Mowry-Hardrict and her identical twin sister, Tamera, had their own hit TV show Sister, Sister, and were two of the ’90s’ hottest child stars. Now all grown up, married and a mother, Mowry-Hardrict plays vivacious stepmom Stephanie Phillips in the Nickelodeon family comedy Instant Mom, airing Thursdays. In a special Mother’s Day episode airing on May 8, Mowry-Hardrict shared screen time with television’s most iconic mothers — Florence Henderson (The Brady Bunch), Jackée Harry (Sister, Sister), Meredith Baxter (Family Ties) and Marion Ross (Happy Days) — and an iconic TV sister, Tempestt Bledsoe (The Cosby Show). Working with such talented and legendary women is an experience that Mowry-Hardrict calls “one of the best experiences I’ve ever had as an actor.” We asked Tia our “7 Questions …”
1) You’re at a magazine rack and can only pick three titles. Which ones do you choose?
Oh my gosh, Self Magazine, People magazine and Glamour.
2) If your TV carried just three shows or networks, what would they be?
I’m a huge fan of TLC, I’m a huge fan of Discovery Channel, and I love — a lot of people don’t know this about me — but I love shows like vampire shows, so True Blood. I’m, like, obsessed with this show. I’ve watched every single season. Sookie and Bill, I’m obsessed with.
3) What three things do you need to have in your fridge or pantry?
Milk for my son, that’s something that we always have. Eggs, because those are his favorite. He has them almost every morning. And kombucha, which is a fermented tea that aids in digestion. It helps with weight loss, it helps with energy, it helps with digestion, and I like it. It tastes good.
4) What has been your strangest fan encounter?
My weirdest fan encounter would have to be when a set of male twins gave me an engagement ring. [Laughs] Yeah, they gave me one, and my sister one.
5) Tell us about a time you were starstruck.
Oh, wow, that’s a great question. When I met Angelina Jolie for the first time. She was talking to me and she was telling me how she has twins and she knew who I was. I was so starstruck that I didn’t understand what she was talking to me about. I was thinking, “Why is she talking to me about twins? … Oh, yes, she has twins!” It was so surreal. I was sitting there talking to my woman crush. She’s my woman crush. I absolutely love her and I was in awe of her beauty. Oh my God! I was so starstruck.
6) What is a movie that you can watch over and over again?
Ooooh, that’s a great question. Goonies!! I can watch that movie over and over and over again, I absolutely love that movie.
7) How do you celebrate Mother’s Day?
I celebrate being a mother, I celebrate my son, I celebrate my family and how we do that is we just relax; we just chill. I work a lot and I’m always on the go, so to relax, chill, maybe even have diner by the fireplace, I’m fine with that. What matters to me for Mother’s Day, is being emotionally connected. And physically connected to my family because I’m so busy, so to just be present with them and celebrate us being a family, celebrate being a mother, ’cause it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me in my entire life.
Image © Nickelodeon
