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PAULETTE WILEYTWENTY FOUR • NINA DOBREV ALSO KNOWN AS: WILEY AND THE ZOO.MEMBERGROUP: MUSICIAN.PROFESSION: SINGER AND HAS DONE MINOR & CAMEO ROLES IN TV.YEARS ACTIVE: 2006 - PRESENTMARITAL STATUS: SINGLE.CHILDREN: N/AFAMILY: PARENTS: james & fiona wiley"isn't it funny how we live fast and die slow? it's like the tortoise and the hare."what's the best thing about living in hollywood?"would you like to live in hollywood? would you like to bask in blistering sunshine and grumpy pricks trying to zoom their way through constant traffic? trust me honey, hollywood isn't all that glitters. if i wasn't so close to my circle of friends, managers, and fans, i would probably go live in alaska. not joking, the scenery is beautiful and the seals are adorable. which by the way, stop slaughtering the seals, don't mess with those fuckers. right, back to the point. i guess if had to pick a wondrous thing about hollywood, it would be the know how and connections. everybody knows everybody. while that also is bad because then everybody knows your business, it makes it seem more magical that you could talk to one guy, and he knows that guy over there, so you should completely go meet that guy because he knows this girl that knits hats for a living. it's really interesting to find despite being a large world, we're all inner connected somehow. we've probably all fucked each others relatives, distant family, friends, ex lovers. ate off the same plates and tried on the same shirt at least once. hollywood is bustling, let me tell you. but if i could, i wouldn't be here. sometimes the visage and hopeful tourists are too difficult to witness."if you could morph into any other person, who would it be and why?"ooh! could i be jesus? no actually, i wouldn't want to have to be nailed up on a cross, i give him props for that. maybe snow white? i mean if all you had to do was watch little men and sing to woodland animals all day, i think that'd be a cinch. in all honestly i think i'd be to be reborn as athena, goddess of courage. she was such a strong influence, wasn't she? to have such beauty within power and battle, all wrapped up in a dose of wisdom and philosophy, that's gotta be a big force to reckon with. she didn't even physically endure battle, she didn't need to. she used wisdom and bartering to be able to strategist, and if you ask me that's some raw talent. i can barely get my manager to let me walk around the house naked, my argument never prevails. she's got both sides of masculinity and feminism, i kind of wish i had the same attributes. i can never be a healthy balance of both, i'm either slumming around in a bandmate's boxers, or skipping down the boulevard in a pair of choo's that probably don't even look good on me. she's a strong figure, a good role model in mythology. if i can be half the woman she was, then consider me golden. figures like this i love to praise and express to my fanbase, that women can be as equal to men, if not sometimes stronger in some occurrences. and that's something to really take to the heart and let it sing to you. do you want to be strong, do you want to overcome the things blocking your path? yes. if women like athena could do it, so could we."what is it you do for a living? is it your dream job?"-she laughs, throwing her hands up in the air- i'm living it, can't you see?! i've always wanted to sing, ever since i was a little girl, granted my parents now don't approve of the path i've laid, they don't like to interact with me much with the paparazzi on my ass. but i'd like to thing somewhere along the way, they were proud of me, and knew i was born to do this. i sang alot of britney spears and dream, it took me awhile to really acquire a taste in music. the rolling stones and janis joplin were favorites. i also love the beatles lyrics, although i wasn't always partial to their sound. i liked things that were loud, in your face, blew up your inside and made you want to sing along. i started doing silly little recordings and going to karaoke nights in venice, i really thought i had something going on. truth be told i wasn't the best singer when i was fifteen, it took some actual piano and voice lessons to get a better quality to my tone. i always joked about becoming famous and having this gangster band to jump all over before playing a big, real show. my friends in high school were the ones to really encourage me, my parents were a little more straight laced and expected me to graduate first. so i did, and broke off a little from their rules to grab my diploma, a couple of friends and started to make magic happen. it's the five of us, me on mic, tommie on harp, jackson on drums, holly on keyboard and bria on backup vocals. we started in bria's garage, god did that place smell like sweaty socks. but it was our starting point, our little haven when we didn't want to stress over college applications or who we were trying to pursue. the reason why we came up with wiley and the zoo, was because i met all four of them at a zoo. literally. i never spoke to them in high school even though some of us were in the same grade, and yet all it took was this one day at the zoo for us to come together. holly and jackson worked there in concession, bria and tommie were just strangers like me. they had a little stage where people were singing to raise money for a new polar bear exhibit, so i jumped on in and asked the crowd for backup. jackson came first, bria next. the other two hung back but, after we did our little shin dig, they were interested. so we became wiley and the zoo! we went all around california trying to get picked up by a label, performing in coffee shops and at small venues for two and a half years before we got picked up and signed, and now that we have our first album, we're hoping to tour soon. i've done little roles and such on tv due to publicity, sang in cameo for one show. but as much as i like a little acting, music will always be first. music is beauty, music is life, music is like breathing. it can be my devil, and my saint at the same time. and with the foursome at my side, i feel like i can conquer anything. i hope to start writing some new songs soon...hopefully if this big blast going around blows over. -she waves a hand- i'll tell you later."if you could eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?"i was going to say breakfast sausage but...you'd all probably laugh at me and make a joke of it. so i'll say instead, either dandelion salads or cake pops from starbucks. i know i know, dandelion salads probably look disturbing to you since you see those natural ingredients on the sidewalk, but i promise this isn't the case. and they are in fact delicious and fresh and very good for you after you've binged on mcdonalds for a week because you're too lazy to cook. but if not those, i'll admit i have a bad sweet tooth. my entire mouth is just begging to rot out, i get birthday cake pops from starbucks at least twice a week, if not more. i don't know if the icing is laced with crack, but i feel like i need another after i've eaten one. so people tend to keep me away from starbucks to avoid getting cavities. it doesn't help that some of my fans send me starbucks gift cards either, it like they know i have a inner fat kid that's crying out for the attention of cake pops."can you tell us a little bit about your family? what about your childhood?"sadly my parents don't like to talk to me much, not unless i go visit them in venice in complete stealth mode. and wear appropriate attire, which means no sky high heels or funky head bands, not even a stitch of makeup. you see, my father is a pastor. and my mother owns a thrift store. they're very much close minded, simple and proper people that do indeed have alot of love in their hearts, but it's controlled. they decide who they want to give it to, if they're good enough to deserve their care. and by the time i started getting into my music, they didn't give it so much. i was born the only child into a middle class upraising, as a tyke i was always expected to go to church on sunday's, come rain or shine come hell or high water. i was a social kid, i tried to make friends with just about everybody, i even ignored the 'don't talk to strangers' rule. which didn't fly with the 'rents because they believed i kept picking the wrong people to surround myself with, the little punchers and screamers and toy smashers. as if a little kid knows how to pick correct friends, it's ludicrous. anyways, because of their influence, they tried to keep me inside most of the time. told me god was supposed to be my friend, somebody to depend on when people failed. again, what little girl will understand this kind of shit. they were suffocating, a little too paranoid of the outside world beyond the church, but i know they loved me. and still hopefully do despite my choices. i kind of started bursting out in high school, the one place i could be free and have my own thinking process. they wanted to put me in a private catholic school, but i fought so much that they had to do it my way, otherwise i'd probably burn the house down. so i went to normal, public school and made tons of weird friends. when i left the house i'd be in jeans and a turtle neck, but once i got on campus i'd change into shorts and a crop top, let my hair shake loose. i was a social butterfly, i was involved with the choir and glee club, and i tried to date in secret. nothing was off limits to me, i explored everything my parents had kept hidden. i even dated and slept with a few girls by the time i was sixteen, and you know what, i haven't felt the flames of hell to this day for it. they pushed me to graduate and try to focus on a career that was tangible, they supported my singing but didn't agree with the idea of starting a band. so i at least respected their wishes there and made sure to finish with solid marks, and then once i was free, ventured off on my own. but things weren't always so wide open for me. when i was seventeen i had this boyfriend for three years, whom in which wasn't good at all. i'm sure you've heard me express in my music and interviews how i am a victim of, and am against domestic abuse in relationships, my parents never knew of this. nobody did, until now. the band just thought i had a controlling, dick boyfriend up until tommie caught him grabbing me in an aggressive manner. nobody knew the things he did to me, and i allowed it to happen, i stupidly helped to hide it. i'm not that naive anymore. but having him and being afraid of him really started to chew at my ability to talk to my parents without them catching that teary sound in my voice, so i started to pull away. after graduation i lived with him for a few months as we formed wiley and the zoo, i worked in a little coffee shop with blue streaks in my hair knowing no better, and ended up fighting to get a place with holly. since my boyfriend kept trying to intervene at practices, and tried to get into tussles with the guys. he let me to avoid seeing the 'douchebag band' as he called it, but that just made him even more stalkerish. at that point, communication with my parents was far and few in-between because i had alienated them so much, i used the excuse of being busy with work to curb the guilt. thankfully by the time i was twenty i had escaped the boyfriend with the help of tommie, but i was still so damaged from it all that i couldn't bear to visit them, let them see the fading bruises. when we got signed and the paparazzi started homing in on me like pigeons to bread, that's when the sinful secrets started to pour out. pictures of me in three way kisses, boobs popping out of my top, even some tried to get pictures of me on a nude beach. that's when the talking really fell short. and now with this current problem on my hands, i'm pretty sure they've disowned me...which if it makes me sad, i haven't felt it yet. i don't think i even have time to feel it. but yeah. my parents and i are currently not speaking. fame has revealed to them more things then they can handle about their baby girl, their gift from god. and they need time. i had a decent childhood, i was just the one to ruin my own life. but through music, and through the power in people and nature, i plan to build myself back up from the ground i've dug myself into...sorry that was so serious, that's probably the only thing i get serious about. uh. boobies?!"do you have any hidden talents?"i'm a nudist, is that a talent? probably not. that's just a way of life a chunk of people in the pie follow, while the rest of the world stays in their clothes. oh, i know one! i'm a badass at jenga. that really is a talent, i don't think i've ever lost a game, and i've been playing since high school. the key is to feel around for the looser blocks, the ones that don't have much pressure on them. and then just carefully poke them out until they're of no use anymore. so yeah, don't challenge me to a game, i will win. but other then that i'm not much good at anything else besides singing. i'm not bobby flay, i can't take interesting pictures, i can't draw a damn stick figure. i'm not terribly good with money, and i'm not a dog whisperer. so i'm going to have to rely on my cords and jenga to be my main talents, if i find out i have anymore i'll let you know. i've still got what, at least sixty years on me? that's plenty of time to find out what other cool shit i can do. maybe i'll be able to write with my feet, now that'd be cool to see."if you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?"i told you silly, alaska! jackson has family there so one time he randomly invited us along to take a trip to anchorage. this of course was before we got signed, we were poor as hell so we all stayed in his parent's house, all five of us in his ten by ten spiderman themed bedroom. at least we're all comfortable with spooning. anyways, we spent two days there and i fell in love with it. we shopped all sorts of little markets with real fish hanging out like a bad camel toe, met dudes with eye patches telling us their crabbing stories. the cafes and streets were wonderful in themselves, i've never had such hearty soup in a bread bowl before. and then scenery, don't even get me started. i was freezing balls because i'm so used to california weather, but the water was so dark, there was patches of ice floating along, everything was so green. it felt like i was in a frosty forest, like my own version of alice in wonderland. and the boys and girls, damn. so fine. but if i couldn't live there since yeah, it's pretty far away, maybe i'd go live in san francisco where things are a little more acceptable. still fast paced but, you're more likely to find a friendlier person here then in hollywood, i feel like san fran is a little more humbled. i mean they have the bush man for christ's sake. -she sighs- but man, alaska. how i wish i could be there forever."have you ever been in love?"-she grimaces- a warped love. a brainwashed love. a fearful love. a love that should have never been. yeah, that kind of love. but real love? no, unfortunately. my boyfriend, i prefer not to disclose his name because i refuse to give him the satisfaction of knowing he's even worth a god damn name, was sweet at the beginning. confident, but sweet. we were both rather outgoing so it seemed fitting for us to get on in high school. he planned to enter the medical field, i had my music. he didn't think it was a logical job, but he didn't bother me about it. the first five months were bliss, nobody knew of our relationship and it had that romeo and juliet feel, sneaking out to see each other. but then when i started getting more independent, started looking for a band and putting less of my attention on him, was when things changed. i still remember the first time he hit me. we got into a small argument over the fact that i didn't call him, i had been so busy wrapping up graduation and being with friends that i forgot. i might have drank that night, so maybe that's why he had worried and wanted me to call him. but you know, shit happens. he made this huge deal of it, started to really lose his temper in a way i'd never seen before. imagine a puffer fish suddenly popping out it's spikes and it startles you, it was like that. i asked him to calm down, and that's when he said, you don't get to tell me what to do, and cracked me across the face. i had been so stunned...i didn't know where the prince charming had gone. and he seemed stunned too, but not in a good way. in a pleased way. and then he said, don't tell anybody, or i'll leave you. and of course a naive little high schooler didn't want to be dumped, so i let the issue go. but ever since the first hit, it was easier for him to set off, have a reason to hit me, push me, demand things of me sexually. degraded me. he constantly told me nobody would ever love me the way he did, that he treated me like this to keep me in line, remind me how good i had it. what a warped reality right? but he had scared me so much, put me in routine so much that i didn't know how to get away, i was afraid he was really going to hurt me if i tried. it took years, years of damage that i still haven't surfaced from, to leave. what broke the final straw on the camel's back was when he waved a knife at me, so i finally broke down and tommie found me huddled in the bathroom, forced it out of me. and boy, he looked like he was going to go kill him. he got the police involved and with clear evidence, he was arrested and we went as far to also put a restraining order on him for when he was finished doing time. it was a nightmare. it still makes me toss and turn at night, it's made it so i'm too afraid to try for an actually healthy relationship. but the best way i fight against it is to express my love and power through music, warning young girls that they have a choice, that they shouldn't put up with it. not even for a second. i support charities with abuse, i go to plenty of events, and if we can tour i'm going to open every concert with telling them they are too beautiful to be hurt like that. because of it i don't think i deserve love, which is so false, don't you think? we all search for and crave love. but psychological things like this just cut your brain too deep to really convince yourself. so...i kind of bury myself in sex. -she shrugs= i believe the body is beautiful, we were all born naked, there's no reason to hide it. and sex is healthy. but the way i go about intimacy isn't healthy, i should be making love with somebody i'm actually with. but for now, it's my band aid. and sadly, i had made a private, saucy little tape with somebody, and some fucker got their hands on it and released it. now it's all over the web, paps are hounding me, this could put a dent in our possible touring with the way some people are disgusted by my behavior. i won't linger on it, i have nothing to be ashamed for, who should be ashamed is the prick that stole my personal documentation in the first place. anyways. the point of this is to love yourself, to be healthy, and to be free to make your own choices. i didn't make the right ones, but i can educate young women and men to do so."have you ever knowingly broken the law?"of course...but oh. don't tell anybody that. the last thing i need is a lawsuit slapped on me. but i've done nice things to break the law! vandalizing, i guess is what i've done. when we started the band we'd go to these kind of grimy places, the bathroom stalls had glory holes and 'love mah mom' written in sharpie, so we decided to make them better by writing actually positive phrases. and some funny ones like, 'be a bro and hold her hair back.' and since then, whenever there's a spot to put a nice message, we sharpie them on. i use a magenta sharpie, tommie uses silver, bria uses orange, holly uses blue, and jackson uses black. we're like a rainbow aren't we? but besides that, i have been nude in places that aren't designated for that. yes i'm a nudist, get over it. but those were times when i was probably intoxicated and didn't know my clothes were even off, so that's not breaking the law...wait yes it is. public intoxication. oops. other then those few things, i haven't been busted for drugs or prostitute rings, haven't gotten a dui, haven't murdered anyone...or have i? just kidding! i'm not one for horribly breaking the law, but if i can write a message to the public, then yeah i'll probably graffiti up the spot regardless of if it's right or wrong."who's number one on your speed dial? tell us about them."holly of course. holly is like the mother i always wanted, but didn't end up with. she's always making sure i'm taken care of, cooks because she knows i suck at it, sometimes does my laundry when i forget to. and when we're out if paps get too close for comfort, she threatens to sock their lights out. she's really an amazing girl, tough on the outside but totally soft on the in. i keep joking that if she wasn't straight, i'd probably marry her. but really i hope she finds an amazing husband, and pops out a bunch of kids so i can be godmother. she's always watched over me, always offered me her open arms, even more so when this tape scandal got exposed. she tries to keep me hidden as much as possible, but really lets me know, hey, you fucked up pauly. after the storm is gone, you gotta fix it. so she doesn't take it too easy on me, but she knows when i need help, when i shouldn't and learn to help myself. she doesn't like being on speed dial, i sometimes butt dial her by accident and make her panic thinking i'm dead in some alley, but i don't dare to take her off. she's my number one as much as the rest of the band is, i won't let her or them forget it."MINNI | 21 | PM | PACIFIC
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WILEY, PAULETTE J., 24 | MUSICIAN | NINA DOBREV
