I get through the tough times through prayer and meditation. And I have really good friends and family, and a great therapist.

It is important to have friends and family around that I love and trust and who love and trust me.

I was really lucky because I went to an all-girl school and that single sex education really helped me because I really learned to bond with women and to not compete with or compare myself as much because we were all allowed to be ourselves and be unique and kind of have our unique strengths.

You're able to make a real difference. If a woman's able to step away financially, she's able to begin to do all the other work.

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

I feel like I barely survived Django (Unchained) emotionally - the violence, hearing the N-word every day. It cost me a lot psychologically, but it was worth it to tell that story.

We as women put ourselves in this situation of feeling like we can’t take a risk, like in order to step out there we have to be perfect, because we’re scared that if we don’t say the right thing, or do the right thing, that we’ll reflect poorly on ourselves and our community, whether that community be women, people of color, both.