A Triumphant - Candace Cameron Bure

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Candace Cameron Bure
A Triumphant
by Debbie Nyman
T
he mega-hit television show, Full House was a part of American pop culture with the wacky antics of the Tanner family, and the trials
and tribulations of raising three daughters. While the teenage years may be challenging for most, West Broward resident Candace
Cameron Bure made it look like a breeze, as the adorable and smart DJ Tanner; a wonderful role model for all young girls at the time.
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The Bure Family
A very grown up Candace is now back on weekly television, in a
new series, “Make it or Break it” on ABC Family to the delight of
millions of her fans. The show is already a huge summer hit and
Candace and the network are thrilled with the reviews.
Candace was not the typical Hollywood child star, even though
she possessed the talent and looks, she was able to rise above the
temptations and pitfalls of the celebrity tabloid lifestyle. Family and
faith are the keys to her success, a grateful Candace points out.
“Our parents never let business become the number one priority,”
Candace explains. At a young age Candace followed the path
of older brother Kirk, of Growing Pains fame, and her parents,
Barbara and Robert guided every one of those steps, ensuring a
normal childhood.
After an eight year run with Full House, Candace immersed herself into
her favorite and most important role; wife and mother. Candace was
introduced to her husband, former NHL player Val Bure by her Full House
cast mate and avid hockey fan, Dave Coulier, when she was twenty
years old. Russian born Val was already a major fan of the show and
of the lovely Candace in particular. South Florida has been home to the
Bure family for almost a decade, while Val was playing for the Florida
Panthers. The Bure family enjoys living in the Hawks Landing community
in Plantation, and raising their three children, Natasha, Lev and Maksim.
While Candace was a full time mom for the past ten years, she was
able to tackle a few acting roles and television appearances. Now
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since Val is retired from professional hockey, she has the peace of
mind to pursue her acting career knowing her children are under
daddy’s capable care.
The new show, “Make it or Break it” is a teenage drama
surrounding the lives of young female Olympic gymnast
hopefuls. Candace plays the role of Summer, the girlfriend of
one of the gymnast’s father, Steve Tanner. The daughter, Lauren,
is played by Cassie Scerbo, who hails from Parkland, and
another of the cast members, Josie Loren, is also from South
Florida. Peri Gilpin, known as Roz from the long running, Emmy
Award winning series Frazier is part of the cast as well.
“It’s been interesting getting back to work,” Candace explains. “I
got the call in February from ABC, by March I decided to do it, and
we started filming in Los Angeles in April. The kids stayed in Florida
through the end of the school year, and then they came out and we
are all together now. We always spend the summers in California
anyway; we already have a home here, and we have a lot of
our family here. We are waiting to see if the show continues, we
have taped ten episodes so far, and we will most likely go back to
Florida, but if the show gets picked up, we want to all stay together.”
There has also been some controversy surrounding the
more “mature” content of the new show. “It is a little more
grown up, and I didn’t know they would be pushing the
envelope, but as a Christian actress, I know what I will or
will not do, and I won’t do anything against my personal
“
I just want my fans to know
how much they mean to me.
beliefs.” Candace has a huge fan base and they expect
wholesome programming.
The experience has been extremely positive and Candace found
an instant connection with the show, based on competitive sports, a
world she was part of while her husband was a professional athlete.
“I love it, I enjoy being on the set, it’s like being back in school and
you find your groove; I feel so at home.” “I have a really great
schedule which is one of the factors I chose to go back to work.
A one hour drama show usually films seven days, long fifteen hour
day, but with such a large cast, I can work three days, and still have
time to spend with the family.”
During this summer, Candace and the family are enjoying being
“beach bums” but her husband Val has other ideas for the family;
Bure Boot Camp. While Val may have retired from hockey, he is
no couch potato!! He coaches Candace and the children in fitness
training, developing their athletic skills, and making it fun as well.
“We work out in the morning, run on the beach, on the Santa
Monica steps, we’ll do push-ups and all sorts of exercises plus we
all play tennis,” she adds. “It’s a lot of fun. Bure Boot Camp keeps
me in shape and I also love to do pilates.”
California is also home to Bure Family Wines, in Napa Valley. Val
has always loved food and wine and starting the wine label was
a natural progression for the young entrepreneur. As he explains;
after ten years in professional hockey, two Olympics and traveling
all over the world, his interest in food and wine has evolved into his
life’s next great passion.
Val began collecting fine wines during his travels all over the world.
On a trip to Napa Valley with Candace, he met Joshua Peeples at
Candace & Val Bure
”
his family’s winery. Their friendship grew into a partnership, focusing
on the production of small lot hand-crafted wines, and the release of
Bure Family Wines www.burefamilywines.com
Combining business and family comes natural to this dynamic
couple. Either sports or entertainment, the Bure children are very
likely to follow their parent’s footsteps. While the boys are more
interested in athletics, Candace noted her daughter Natasha has
already expressed an interest in acting. It’s not surprising Natasha
nailed her first audition for a commercial in Los Angeles.
Another wonderful perk for the family this summer is being close
to grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Candace is always
looking for interesting projects and would absolutely love to work
with her brother Kirk one day if they found the right script.
Candace finds time for charity work and has volunteered for many
different organizations. “I have my hand in so many right now, I
believe Children’s Hunger fund is a great rated charity, they focus
on feeding people all over the world. The House of Hope is another
cause of mine; they have group homes which help with high risk
teens and pregnancies.”
Her faith is something which never wavers, and Candace has
been a devout Christian, with her own ministry, she finds time to
travel and speak at churches throughout the country. “My ministry is
very important to me, I have to be selective with my time, but I will
minister on weekends in the fall.”
“I feel very blessed,” Candace expressed. “I still consider Florida
home, I am excited and just want my fans to know how much
they mean to me.” EL
Candace Cameron Bure
Candace & Val Bure
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