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Melissa Francis opens up on life as former child star

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    Fox Business Network anchor pens memoir

  • Duration 5:27
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This transcript is automatically generated

We all remember our next guest who played -- Cooper Ingles on that famous.

Show Little House on the Prairie.

-- -- Marriage as long as -- -- Americans can.

Yeah.

-- Run.

-- the -- amazing yeah.

Well let me yeah little kids and parent trap I.

Wouldn't say it's just it's a classic little drama and my parents were killed in a tragic wagon accident I have.

Time.

And there's a dangerous and just go flying -- -- Clinton -- your parents could have heard the music you -- and well that's something.

That was.

Think dramatic -- and actually your new book this is Melissa fresh.

I don't think works on Fox Business -- your new book is problematic.

You know the diary of a stage mothers daughter.

I'm glad to see you laughing and the -- because and this is actually up -- a tragic book of sorts in the end there's there's hope.

-- and change cycle but by you did not have a great childhood.

You know 88.

In front of the camera had -- a magical childhood I was in more than a hundred commercials and I was on movies and and series and when I was working it was fantastic and we had a really on timing and magazines that you saw they had to do a lot of bribing cajoling and -- -- the Brady get everyone to perform and do their thing.

And we had a lot of fun but -- -- Michael landed right -- -- provided by Mike Harris fueled by the Hollywood version of the tiger mom you know a stage mother.

Who poured all of her desire and ambition in time and effort.

-- -- making me a star and she was very clever and she works really hard.

But she drove me relentlessly to perfection achievement in everything I mean in acting -- school.

No it may minus wasn't acceptable you know was just in an incessant.

I drive and I had an older sister who she.

You know treated the same way -- have very different a fact you know for me it made me incredibly driven but for my sister who couldn't live opt to.

You know that that pressure and couldn't perform and and didn't achieve at the same level it really destroyed her and she shrunk further back here in the shadows -- there -- did your mom feel about right that you wrote the book.

She was -- she's furious right.

Well -- come here that the whole story sort of comes to an explosive and at the end of the book and you know from there we hadn't spoken in.

You know more than a decade and tell till like -- to my show on Fox Business out to California and to LA and slightly weaker truck -- And she came in and and confronted me and you know she yen.

Grabbed me and you know it was it was it was scary I was that kid that she you know threw down the -- -- out of the car we're having a flashback to your childhood that my mother is -- at me again.

Yeah yeah and and it was just a couple minutes before the show but luckily.

You know she sort of left as quickly she came and says it's so important for you with -- -- right because you're you're happily married -- -- beautiful sounds.

What what was the reason it was -- cathartic what was things.

It was really that -- people of credit they come up to me and they say you know I had the same experience but that when they tell me about it it's actually completely different in what they're relating to I think is the idea that you -- have -- Typical child had a tremendous hurdle in your past.

And you can decide you know I woke up one day and I just said I'm gonna have a different life I mean a break this cycle I'm I'm not gonna do this anymore.

And you know I I started new day where I had at a family -- my -- I have a loving husband I have two beautiful children.

You know a career that I love.

And I just started a brand new life and I think a lot of times people feel stock in the way that they were raised.

And they don't know how to get themselves out of it my sister you know could very much cuts to.

She -- what was when you first came as you know I was yelling at you and trying to I was trying to rattle you you came here I'm like why can I rattled this woman -- Because you want to -- as a kid that.

Well I mean a lot of it -- the beginning of the book Clinton must that it is very funny and joyful.

Man you know we had a lot of great times and it makes it -- hard -- it's it's not clear cut you know I mean.

She did it.

She's responsible for so much of my success in life and it and it did have a lot of positive -- But it it that it didn't sunny and -- with tiger mom it's a fine line between.

I dedicated pair.

Yeah who invest themselves child for all the good and -- reasons -- and then the ones who just take -- sent to -- yeah and it and it becomes a problem the child decides that they're going to be an adult and they realize they need to have some control of their own life I mean that's what spurred me to go across country and go to Harvard he needed to get away.

And see if I wanted to do something different if I can have a life of mine and and you know that really changed everything for me to -- and do it get away from your past and it's all in the new book comes out today diary of the stage mother's thoughts.

Let's Francis thank you thank you -- -- movie.

-- -- -- -- movie is all seen I would like to play a role.

I could play somebody Michael Landon that until I'm studying now look this is obsolete.

It's great.

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