I know how to make other women look beautiful: from hair to makeup to wardrobe. So, I feel that I have a gift with imaging, and that's kind of fundamental to the music video process.

My priorities are really about creating balance in my home, making sure that I have enough time with my kids, making sure that I have the time to do the things that I want to do with my career, and to continue to make movies.

So I think if we’d just take our time as women, and do what comes natural to us and for us, we would make fewer mistakes.

The last step will be letting my hair go natural. That's when you'll know I'm free.

It's hard to judge yourself. Each Essence cover represents a different special moment in my life. One is about keeping it sexy in my 40s, so I'm not mad about that either.

I think that's the most important thing: that we create dialogue.

I'm kind of pinching myself in the morning. Like, wait, you really did pray to have a body of work that stays diversified and interesting. And I have it!