As an adopted child growing up in Auburn, Alanda Spence flourished in a loving family environment.

She fondly remembers a normal childhood, years of laughter, tears and joy shared with an older brother and sister.

Alanda excelled at school, emerging as a natural performer on stage. By age 6, she was a state baton twirling champion. She began singing at local events.

Through it all, Alanda’s supportive parents always were there – at her many competitions, concerts and soccer games. That steady support never waned, not even after things dramatically changed in the household.

When Alanda was 6, her father – Stephen Spence, an Air Force officer – admitted his homosexuality.

“Being the youngest, it was difficult for me to know anything was different,” Alanda said. “It took me longer to understand what being gay was all about for my dad.”

Alanda’s parents separated and eventually divorced, but they decided to keep the family intact. Her father moved to Renton, but remained very much in his kids’ daily lives.

“In retrospect, I really applaud my parents for that,” Alanda said. “My father was always there when I needed him. My mother (Jeanne Jack) is a strong woman who pushed me, who has been supportive.”

The support inspired Alanda to dream big and reach high. At first she wanted to be a doctor, but her heart belonged to theater.

A talent agent at a twirling competition approached Alanda’s mother about acting and modeling. In time, Alanda modeled in local fashion shows, appeared in films and performed in community and children’s theaters.

Alanda, a graduate of Auburn High School and Green River Community College’s Head Start program, followed her ambitions across the country, earning a degree from New York University’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts.

That training launched a successful professional career in modeling, acting for stage and screen, and even producing.

“I love the vibrance of New York,” said

Alanda, who has lived in Manhattan for 11 years, but plans to visit home this year to get married.

Alanda continues to build her resume in a difficult, demanding career.

In 2009, she produced and starred in the short film, “La Soledad”. In 2010, she expanded her production skills to include print and produced the international campaign for EA Sports: Wear Your Colors FIFA 2010 World Cup video game.

Her credits include: “The Boring Life of Jacqueline” (HBO.com), “One Life to Live” (ABC), and “The Color of Justice” (Nat’l Tour).

The 29-year-old actress recently tapped into her personal experience being raised by a gay father in the military to play a controversial character in ABC News Primetime show, “What Would You Do?”

The Auburn native took on a controversial role depicting a lesbian soldier on the show.

In an episode inspired by the repeal of “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”, the series uses hidden cameras to capture positive and negative behavior of bystanders toward the ethical dilemma involving Alanda’s character.

Alanda owns the stoic military disposition yet harnesses the vulnerability of homosexuality.

“I didn’t have to go far for research,” Alanda said jokingly. “I just called home.”

Alanda called her father, a retired Air Force major living in Texas.

“(The role) was something I felt passionate about,” Alanda added.

From the age of 6, Alanda grew up marching in Pride Parades on Seattle’s Capital Hill, but also shopping at the McChord Air Force Base Exchange. As a young girl, she never knew the two worlds her father delicately balanced were not supposed to collide.

“I am happy that (the repeal) will take away the official discrimination against homosexuals serving in the military. But it doesn’t alleviate the unofficial discrimination,” Alanda said.

Always eager to support the gay community, Alanda jumped at the opportunity to take on the role, despite positioning herself for public scrutiny.

“If homosexuals feel so moved as to fight for their country, their families and our freedom, we should all be so lucky,” Alanda said.

Alanda draws inspiration from her father and a close relationship that continues today.

“I am very proud of my father,” she said. “I just tell him that I love him.”