Lea Michele's homesickness struggle

Lea Michele finds it "tough" being away from her family when she is shooting 'Glee'.

The actress grew up in New York where all her family and boyfriend, 'American Idiot' actor Theo Stockman, live and admits she misses them like crazy when she is in Los Angeles filming the musical TV drama, in which she plays Rachel Berry.

She said: "My family is very, very important to me. My mother is Italian American. She's a very strong woman - a good role model. My father's side is Jewish. I'm an only child, but we're the kind of family where every Sunday night, we have dinner with all 19 of my cousins. I miss home in New York so much. I miss my family, my boyfriend. It's tough filming the show in Los Angeles. Sometimes that makes me feel down."

Although she misses her family, the 24-year-old star admits her parents Edith and Marc often come to visit her and she now has more space for them since she stopped sharing a house with her 'Glee' co-star Dianna Agron, who portrays Quinn Fabray.

She added in an interview with Britain's Glamour magazine: "I used to share a place with Dianna Agron but now I have my own place. I live by myself, although my family is visiting me. I'm not a party animal, I have never been. I like to be at home and cook and catch up on old movies."