When you have all the bells and whistles - you've got the big, fancy catering, you've got the big, fancy car service and the big, fancy trailer - it makes it very comfortable and everybody's making a lot of money. But that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to end up with a great film.

But that we didn't have the level of experience in terms of working in the industry so you weren't sure and you needed to see it and this is an industry that the more you work the better you get and that the more opportunities you have the better you get.

I learned there's a tremendous amount of sisterhood among Muslim women, which I thought was really beautiful.

When you are single mom - don't be afraid to get out there and date, and have a little bit of fun. We're still women... we're still feminine... and we still have needs.

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 if something matters to you, and is important to you, then you give it the attention and energy it deserves. So, I don't look upon it as a price, but as an opportunity to influence the community in a healthy way.

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.