I think I just have this need to be a storyteller. That's why I wasn't a great dancer - I couldn't articulate a story. I was a better choreographer. I have the need to to just express myself in that way. I can't explain it.

I see explicit covers on magazines, and they're getting even more explicit, and it's like, Are women being empowered, or is this just what sells magazines? Are they feeling pressured, or have they really come into themselves and are saying, 'I am woman, hear me roar?

I did not try to conform to anybody's ideal of what a Latin celebrity or movie star should be. I took a lot of hits for it.

I think I just have this need to be a storyteller. That's why I wasn't a great dancer - I couldn't articulate a story. I was a better choreographer. I have the need to to just express myself in that way. I can't explain it.

I didn't appreciate Brooklyn until I left it.

A lot of women feel ashamed to be weak.

I was very willing to take on controversial roles that people didn't really want to look at.