Let me tell you a story about Melissa McCarthy, who's currently riding high with all the Oscar buzz for her role as a literary forger in Can You Ever Forgive Me?. But guess what? There was a time when Melissa thought about walking away from acting altogether. Before she hit it big on Gilmore Girls, she spent years struggling as a stage performer in New York City. She was seriously considering quitting until her mom, Sandy, stepped in. "I started doing other jobs, and I remember my mom calling me and saying, ‘When are you going to get back to what you do?’" Melissa shared at a recent TimesTalks Q&A. Her mom wasn't just sweet and supportive; she was firm. "It was a real ‘stand your ground and get back in there’ kind of thing," Melissa said, adding that it truly changed the course of her life.

Lessons from Mom: The Time Melissa Stole a Candy Bar

Now, let’s go back even further to when Melissa was in fourth grade. Back then, she made a little mistake by stealing a Chunky candy bar from a store in her hometown of Plainfield, IL. Her mom, Sandy, didn’t just let it slide. She made Melissa return the stolen treat and confess her crime. "I was crying hysterically, and I had a big, blue fluffy coat on — I looked like a crying blueberry," Melissa recalled with a laugh. The store clerk tried to reassure her, saying, "Don’t worry about it," but Sandy wasn’t having it. She was pounding on the glass, insisting, "It’s not OK! Don’t tell her it’s OK!" Melissa herself is surprised she doesn’t have a mugshot. That’s how much her mom instilled a strong sense of right and wrong in her.

Melissa as a Role Model for Her Daughters

Fast forward to today, Melissa, now 48, is all about setting a positive example for her daughters, Vivian, 11, and Georgette, 8, whom she shares with her husband, Ben Falcone. "Navigating each day with my two girls, I hope I’m trailblazing," Melissa exclusively told Closer Weekly in the magazine’s latest issue, available on newsstands now. She’s all about clearing the path for her daughters, making life a little smoother for them. "At least in the sense of chopping things down and making the path for them a little better," she said.