As human beings, what makes us able to empathize with people is a connection that is not necessarily understood mentally.

Whoopi Goldberg looked like me, she had hair like mine, she was dark like me. I'd been starved for images of myself. I'd grown up watching a lot of American TV.

Your value is in yourself; the other stuff will come and go.

It's in understanding yourself deeply that you can lend yourself to another person's circumstances and another person's experience.

Every time I overcome an obstacle, it feels like success. Sometimes the biggest ones are in our head - the saboteurs that tell us we can't.

I dress according to how I feel.

I loved duping my parents; I liked manipulating them. It was a way for me to stand out. It was fun.