I think there's a lot of things that occur within the African-American community, that we would prefer to stay within the African-American community - that we get a little nervous when you start having scenes or dialogue that we know is going to be viewed and heard on a national or global scale.

I'm the kind of person whose clothes are all hung up and color-coordinated, to the point where my whites don't touch my creams.

When you want a break from dogs, and you take them to the kennel to the stars, no one thinks you're a bad pet owner. But when you have kids, you can't drop them off for three weeks without someone calling Child Protective Services!

I just kind of assumed that you do a movie and then you leave and you hop onto the next thing. I never thought that people are actually buddies.

I just thought acting would be something to help out with my student loans, but my first year as an actress, I made more money than my parents. That's when I realized it could turn into a career. After that, I put everything I had into it.

If someone lacked decency or respect, I didn't allow that person to stay in my world.

In Hollywood, you play a mom, and the next thing you know, you're on 'The Golden Girls.' They age you so fast.