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

No matter where you're from, your dreams are valid.

I was bullied by my siblings and cousins, so make-believe was a way in which I could be in charge. When I was like 10 and my sister was about five, I convinced her that she was going to jail because she used a bad word. The doorbell happened to ring, and I told her it was the police. I made her pack her bags. She was crying, and then I said to her, "I forgive you, and I'm gonna tell the cop to go away." Then, of course, she loved me. It was terrible - she still remembers it. I had a sordid sense of humor.

Makeup isn't something I've worn a lot of in my life.

I realized that beauty was not a thing that I could acquire or consume, it was something that I just had to be.

I do my best work when I feel conviction to say something through the character I play. Always I want to have integrity and not compromise that.

Oprah played a big role in my understanding of what it meant to be female and to really step into your own power. I wouldn't even call her a role model; she was literally a reference point. You have the dictionary, you have the Bible, you have Oprah.