I grew up in Nairobi, which is the capital of Kenya, so it's hustle and bustle, and there's always something going on.

I remember in my very first fitting, costume designer Patricia Norris gave me a garment with these intricate stitches - stitches over stitches, because it had been repaired so many times. Once I put it on, she told me that it belonged to an actual slave woman. My heart just stopped. Each one of the stitches had a story, you know. Just recognizing this period I was going to be dancing with was a "come to Jesus" moment.

I like to wear things, I don't like things to wear me.

I always love to learn new things. That's the reason I like being an actor.

On a very practical level, I've learned the importance of circulation socks for planes. I had this awful experience of getting off a flight to go to an event and my feet had swelled. Try getting into heels then! So you put on the socks for the flight, then you can wear whatever heels you want.

We don't get to pick the genes we want. There's room in this world for beauty to be diverse.

I like people who don't tell you what you want to hear.