Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

IT’S often assumed that every comic has a checkered back story awash with despair and dysfunction--the perfect stimulus for sharp comedic material.

Not for Disney star and comedienne Leslie-Anne Huff. This half-Filipino, half-Caucasian actor-model-performer roots her jocose personality from an organic source: a happy childhood and well-balanced family life.

"I’ve been really lucky to have had a fun, comfortable upbringing...I have a very limited pool of ‘bad memories’ to go back to.

I truly believe making people laugh is why God put me on this planet," says one of the stars of Disney’s first original web series, Tween Choice Award-winning Mackenzie Falls.

Born in San Fernando Valley to loving and supportive parents Larry and Babes Huff, Leslie-Anne admits she was quite the quirky kid. She’d recite self-composed drivels to inanimate dolls as her audience, while borrowing lines from Disney movies.

"I remember the first time I saw a cartoon version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. I was obsessed! I used to act out the suicide scene with a giant teddy bear. I thought I was so dramatic," she said.

Leslie-Anne credits her parents for her funny gene. "My mom’s a little on the crazy side and my dad’s a little on the quiet side, but they both know how to have a good laugh. It’s because of them that I’m such a sucker for fart jokes."

Her industry heroines include the likes of Tina Fey, Anna Faris and Jenna Elfman.

More than being comely and funny ladies, Leslie-Anne admires them for their behind-the-scenes success as writers and producers. Something that she also wants to see happen in her own career.