Nikki Blonsky made her professional acting debut as the star of 2007’s movie adaptation of “Hairspray” but her friendship with John Travolta carries just as much weight, if not more.

Blonsky made her acting debut starring alongside industry giants like Travolta, Queen Latifah, Christoper Walken, Allison Janey, Zac Efron, Amanda Bynes and James Marsden.

“Playing Tracy Turnblad was my first job in the entertainment business,” Blonsky told “Allison Interviews” host Allison Kugel. “Starring in ‘Hairspray’ was my first job outside of Cold Stone Creamery and babysitting.”

The long-term friendship she sparked with Travolta was an unexpected blessing.

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“‘Always be yourself.’ That is what John told me. He said, ‘Always stay true to Nikki,” Blonsky said. “Don’t change for this business or anybody in the business. Don’t take any roles that don’t feel right to you. Do it your way. Just do what feels right in your heart.’ I have taken that with me through every movie, every TV show, and every life experience that I’ve gone through.

“Hairspray was the greatest blessing in the world in my life, but my relationship with John and his advice really is something that I could have never fathomed. I would never have imagined somebody who is so busy and one of the biggest stars in the world would take so much time to take care of the people he loves, or that I would be one of those people that he reaches out to continuously.”

The friendship between the two endures to this day.

“Every year we talk, on birthdays, holidays, it just means so much to me,” Blonsky said. “It’s almost like light just beams out of his heart. He lightens up a room. He always finds the good and the positive. He makes everybody feel like when he’s talking to you, that you are the only person there.

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“You feel like the most special person in the world. Not many people have that quality to do that for other people. He just makes you feel so incredibly special, and he is so genuine and down to earth, real, and human.”

Blonsky also opened up about coming out as lesbian in 2020 after previously being engaged to a man.

“I have a friend from middle school that came out at the age of 12. I came out at 30. It’s different for everybody. Everyone has different circumstances, whether it be religious, family, or fear of acceptance. I always knew I was different, but I thought that was the actor side of me. For me, it was a process of growing up and learning about myself.

“That is when I said, ‘Okay, wait a second. I’ve been living my life to make other people happy, and I was afraid to take that leap to see what it was like to date a girl. Then I did and guess what? It wasn’t the scariest thing in the world. I found out it was exactly where I needed to be, romantically. I needed to not be dating guys, because it was nothing but bad, bad, bad; bad story after bad story.”