My whole life I've had the fear that I was going to be abandoned.

What's the worst that can happen? If it doesn't do well I can put on my big girl panties, deal with it and move on.

I never wanted to be a model. My modelling career was nothing but a stepping stone to my acting career and that's all I ever saw it as. A pointless rock in the river that has to be stepped on in order to get to the meaningful oasis of acting.

I was black growing up in an all-white neighborhood, so I felt like I just didn't fit in. Like I wasn't as good as everybody else, or as smart, or whatever.

If you're of multiple races, you have a different challenge, a unique challenge of embracing all of who you are but still finding a way to identify yourself and I think that's often hard for us to do.

I've learned my tricks. I know what I like. I do not wait around. I initiate. And I'm not all about frequency - I favor intensity.

In Monster's Ball I went nude, which was scary, but I took the chance and that's how I like to approach my career.