I'm probably proudest of being able to lift a lot of us out of the 'hood. That's the biggest thing, that I've been able to employ a lot of people and give them opportunities.

To wanna be me is to go through not just the good but the bad. You wanna share my story identically? Man, you gonna take some lumps.

Life is so much bigger, grander, higher, and wider than we allow ourselves to think.

I don’t want to be a supermodel; I want to be a role model.

You have to stand for what you believe in and sometimes you have to stand alone.

I was not born a size 2. I'm not skinny, period. I'm not willing to sleep with the director or step on somebody else's neck to get the job.

I know people who are twice as creative as I am, twice as smart, but they didn't do anything because they feared going into a room and opening their mouths. My parents told me to truly accomplish things in my life, there would be times I would have to stand alone. It may be scary, but that's what it requires.