The most vulnerable people have tough exteriors because they are very scared inside, and it's very hard for people like that - people like me - to open up. But playing it safe means you stop being open to learning. I always try to find the challenges.

Time heals everything. Sometimes you have to go through that pain and heartbreak so that you can get to the other side and come out on top.

When you're young, it's so easy to get bull-dozed.

The red lips are - I don't want to call them "armor," but they're the clothes of my character, and I'm in the business of entertainment. Wearing red lipstick helps get me into that world.

After all you've put me through, you would think I despise you, but in the end I want to thank you because you made me that much stronger.

It's important for someone who's dealt with violence to be able to talk to someone, no matter who it is. So I'm vocal about how I feel. That's how I've worked through a lot of my problems.

Growing up with the childhood that I had, I learned to never let a man make me feel helpless, and it also embedded a deep need in me to always stick up for women.