. >> tabitha calls lorettayaya d heelf tata. and loretta says, no, i am yoretta.eet. >> reporter: she's keenly aware her children arereeing raised in far different circumstances than she was. growing up in cincinnati, onenef eight kids, in a family that often struggled to pay the bills. until her mother and step-father belt their dollar on scholarship-funded dance lessons. she then appeared on "the bob hope show." ♪ you're only a day away >> i loved sisiing. i wasn't terrifically god at it, i don't think. but i just loved it -- >> reporter: well, you had to be pretty good at it. >> i had a decent year. according to those around me, i could really act the part. so, what i -- what i lacked in power, in ethel merman, i really brought the emotional side. maybe -- >> reporter: you were the meryl streep of "annie." >> i was a great interpreter. >> reporter: she made the transition from precocious kid to awkward teen when she was cast in "square pegs." >> i'm never wearing my glasses again. >> repepter: her breakout movie role came in 1991 opposite steve martin in "l.a.