I want to see more women behind the scenes.

The first time I saw E.T., the actual image of an alien, and he was so sweet-looking. I wanted him. I wanted E.T.

I can't speak for what other artists should do. I can only tell you how I live.

I think that young women and little girls need to see that they don't have to be the damsel in distress. They don't have to not show their strength. They don't have to be whatever the stereotype is or the tropes that we go to in our minds.

You can't be from Montgomery, Alabama, and not have a background in the church. It's at the core of who we are as a people.

I don't have one role that I want to play. I guess... I want to be a producer. I want to be an activist. I want to be proactive in bringing about work for men, women, boys, girls, everybody who is good at what they do and deserve a shot at it.

I hope that in some way that I can be some sort of beacon of hope, especially because I am not the typical Hollywood beauty.