If you set out to do something and you give it your all and it doesn't work out, be willing to modify your goal slightly. Have the ability to look in another direction. A small shift could guide you to the real purposes of your life.
During really difficult times in my life when I start questioning why I am struggling with something, I often turn to books to understand myself better.
Being a black woman, I've often felt I've been judged by my sex and my race, and I have always known that it shouldn't hamper me.
My whole life I've had the fear that I was going to be abandoned.
I always had to diet. I'm diabetic, so it's a lifestyle for me anyway just to stay healthy and not end up in the hospital.
I have to live for me. I have to do what I need to do for me, and I have stopped concerning myself with what people say.
Let me tell you something - being thought of as a beautiful woman has spared me nothing in life. No heartache, no trouble. Love has been difficult. Beauty is essentially meaningless and it is always transitory.
There's a place in me that can really relate to being the underdog. I'm always fighting to overcome the obstacle. I can really understand what's that about.
This moment is so much bigger than me. It's for every nameless, faceless woman of colour that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened.
I know that I will never find my father in any other man who comes into my life, because it is a void in my life that can only be filled by him.
I wish all men were like dogs.
Nature has got it all wrong: When you are younger, it should be harder to get pregnant, and as you get older it should be easier. When you are so ready, you can't do it to save your life. And when you are 21, you are so not ready, but you are ripe as could be. The eggs should become more developed the older you get, not die slowly from the day you're born. That's one thing God got wrong.
My daughter doesn't want to go to school because she knows 'the men' are watching for her. They jump out of the bushes and from behind cars and who knows where else, besieging these children just to get a photo.
The worst thing a man can ever do is kiss me on the first date.
I won't have a traditional marriage; I don't find the value in that anymore. But I am such a hopeless romantic and I really want love and I want a committed relationship, so I am going to reinvent marriage for myself.
Growing older is not such a big deal for me, despite the fears that older actresses have in Hollywood. When I hit 40, for example, I didn't feel 40 - or whatever that is supposed to feel like.
I realize as you age the less makeup you wear the younger you look.
I think I've evolved into someone pretty confident - in myself and in my skin.
I've pretty much learned I can let that [being black] hinder me if I want to ... or I can fight for different kinds of roles.
To make lips look naturally pink, I put on red lipstick, wipe it off, and then apply clear gloss.
I'll never get married again, and I always hate to say never to anything, but I will never marry again.
My pregnancy was amazing. I was happy that whole time, I felt good, I had energy, I was like Superwoman. I wish I could feel like that for the rest of my life, that's how fantastic it was.
I'm done with men... I'm going to be alone. I have no luck with relationships. I don't think I'm made for marriage.
I've always thought that when anyone receives an award for acting they should always thank their fellow actors, because the only way you're going to deliver your best performance is when you have other good actors on the set supporting you and being very present for you even when the camera is not on them.
I guess you could say I have bad taste in men. But I no longer feel the need to be someone's wife.
