Amy Adams’ inner toughness
“I was a pretty scrappy, tough kid,” says Adams, who was one of seven children.
Amy Adams is not as dainty as she might seem, said Sophie Heawood in the London Guardian. Adams, 36, may project an air of sweet refinement, but growing up in Colorado, she punched out some people. “I was a pretty scrappy, tough kid,” she says. “I got in all kinds of fights at school. Boys didn’t mess with me.” Part of her brawling nature comes from the fact that she was one of seven children. “You have to fight for everything.” But mainly, it came from being raised by her divorced mother, a semi-professional bodybuilder. “I think it was a way to reclaim her own body after giving birth so many times. Mom worked in the gym where she trained, so we hung out there and terrorized the place. We were always very physically fit and involved in sports.”
Knowing how to handle herself has come in handy at different points in her life, from the playground to fending off grabby patrons while waitressing at Hooters, one of her first jobs. She regrets ever telling anyone about that gig. “It’s all about my three weeks at Hooters,” she sighs. “All anybody wants to know about is Hooters. I owe it all to the boob bar.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The rise and rise of VTubers
Under The Radar This anime-inspired internet subculture is going global
By Abby Wilson
-
Book reviews: 'The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the World’s Most Coveted Microchip' and 'Who Is Government? The Untold Story of Public Service'
Feature The tech titan behind Nvidia's success and the secret stories of government workers
By The Week US
-
Mario Vargas Llosa: The novelist who lectured Latin America
Feature The Peruvian novelist wove tales of political corruption and moral compromise
By The Week US