Starting in show business as a dancer at the age of three, Tina appeared in television commercials before becoming a regular on the series "Camp Wilder". She had a starring role in Oprah Winfrey's telefim, "Before Woman Had Wings." and made her feature-film debut in 1994 with three films: "When A Man Loves A Woman" with Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia, "Corrina, Corrina" with Whoopi Goldberg and Ray Liotta, and "Andre" with Keith Carradine. In 1995 Tina distinguished herself in Kevin Costner's 'Waterworld'.

She has her goals set and knows what she wants, and in what direction she wants to travel in. "My mother always kept trying to scare me out of being an actress. but It didn't work. It's always been my dream to be on stage and entertaining people," she says.

She loves acting but says that her family is the most important thing to her, along with her education. She has learned much from her time on the set. "It takes a lot to carry films like 'Alice' with all these people. It's a very difficult business to work in, and it takes a lot of energy", says the young miss.

Happily, Tina enjoys working under pressure. "I didn't read the Alice In Wonderland script until I got to England. And we began shooting immediately, plus I had a great cultural shock when I got there," she laughs. "The whole movie was a total challenge that's a reason I took it. We had 10 to 14 set-ups a day. The tea party took 2 weeks, that's a long time, but the outcome was incredible. Martin Short was great."

She loved working with such a great cast of big actors. "Everyone was in and out, but they were all funny and very supportive. Alice in Wonderland was probably the best movie I ever worked on. I came away from that feeling so confident."

"I was so happy to be a part of the whole crew and cast which were both equally amazing. In the end I felt incredibly blessed to be a part of such an amazing project."

Tina maintains a busy schedule and confesses that she puts a lot of pressure on herself to do her best. When she's not In school or reading scripts, she enjoys singing, playing the piano, and karate, for which she just received a black belt. She wants to work with many different actors and writers, and harbors aspirations to direct.

"I think the heart of this story," says Tina, "is to be fearless. To not be afraid of doing things — to face your fears. The whole heart in this version of 'Alice' is to believe in yourself. . . . It's such an ageless story; it grows with you as you grow older."

Credit: alice-in-wonderland.fsnet.co.uk