I grew up in a family where we weren't allowed to talk about beauty or to put any emphasis on physical appearance.

I like serious films, the moneymaking blockbusters that don't make any kind of sense and John Carpenter films.

My grandfather was the first feminist in my life. He taught me if a woman can do something, a man will respect her.

Driving a cab is not really a nurturing type of relationship. You take people and they tip you, they may not tip you, you don't know their names, they don't care about you, you don't care about them.

Coming from the '50s, things were very violent. We were still being lynched. If I drove down through the South with my mother, I might not make it through one state without being bullied or harassed. I feel like unless you've been black for a week, you don't know.

My family was very, very receptive to all; all races, religions.

Everyone else can do violence. You know, Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone, they can all do shoot-'em-ups. Arnold Schwarzenegger can kill 10 people in one minute, and they don't call it "white exploitation." They win awards and get into all the magazines. But if black people do it, suddenly it's different than if a white person does it. People respond differently because people come from different places.