I feel a responsibility to myself and my parents and the people whose love has gotten me this far - people who were in my life before fame. That's where I get my sense of self. It's deadly for anyone to take on that role of a deity; it's not sustainable. I've got tons of flaws. Call my mother - she'll tell you! She keeps it real. Sometimes you don't want to hear the truth; she'll tell it to you out of love.

And my one prayer to God, the miracle worker, was that I would wake up lighter-skinned.

I grew up watching foreign programs - American, English, Mexican, and very little Kenyan. 'The Color Purple' was the first time I saw people who looked like me.

[My mother] always said I was beautiful and I finally believed her at some point.

We, as human beings, have the capacity for extreme cruelty.

There is no shame in black beauty.

You can’t eat beauty. It doesn’t feed you.