I think all of us in our lives feel like we can't make a difference or we can't make a change or it's too late or we're too tired or we're too scared.

Your life is your story, and the adventure ahead of you is the journey to fulfill your own purpose and potential.

That's what acting is - it's about having the courage to allow your audience into the private moments of your characters' lives.

I'd never really heard of financial abuse, although it makes so much sense when you hear it defined.

I work very physically as an actor. The biggest thing for me has been the challenge of how to be this person [Olivia Pope] with the personal transformation that's going on for me physically... That hasn't been easy. It's been an awesome challenge for me...because so much of how I access character is through my body.

Study! Study ! Study! Get an education.

The breakdown of the black community, in order to maintain slavery, began with the breakdown of the black family. Men and women were not legally allowed to get married because you couldn't have that kind of love. It might get in the way of the economics of slavery. Your children could be taken from you and literally sold down the river.