My view of myself as an artist expanded because of the time I spent at Cal Arts.

Personally, especially as a young black woman, I didn't think that Los Angeles was a place for me to start. There's a certain type that they go for or don't.

In L.A., being an actor is like a pastime, everybody there is like, "I was on this reality show; I'm an actor." It becomes a word that is loosely thrown around.

I started playing piano when I was around four; thats my first passion.

My mom was really busy when I was growing up, but she did a really good job in terms of balancing her home life with her professional life. She basically took me everywhere.

There are a lot of celebrities that I think can get a little bit distracted by the way that our society views celebrity. All of a sudden, the film becomes about, "Come see this celebrity!" I'm not interested in that. I want to see a story.

I admire fashion and I respect it greatly, but I don't necessarily follow trends. I never really have. I just wear what I like to wear. I really like colors, and there are some things I wear and don't care what anybody says about it being in style or not. I wear it anyway.