Actress

Sometimes I get frustrated with my own self because I'm such a perfectionist.

No one can bully me better than me. I'm the first person to the party going, 'Don't worry - you don't have to cut me down, 'cause I'm already there.' I struggled with all those voices and gave them so much power, to the point where they took over my life.

'Miscast' is a family affair. It highlights so many different aspects of the industry in that one night, and it's a great evening.

I'm an actress who likes to work as much as possible, so I'm very grateful for all these opportunities.

I love people that go the distance. I hate things that are lukewarm. They've got to be one way or the other and go all the way.

My mother played guitar by ear, and all of us sang except my father, bless his heart.

There is a struggle when you do represent so many countries within you, but that makes you who you are.

We weren't wearing shoes on a full-time basis until prom.

I never got to see the circus... I was always in love with being a trapeze artist, though.

If someone puts a character in front of me - no matter what it is, whether there has been a film or not - I want to be that character, not imitate it. There's a difference - a big difference.

Everyone makes mistakes, and we need to learn to forgive ourselves.

I used to be a pop singer; well, not used to be. I am an R&B singer. My emphasis was on Stevie Wonder and Chaka Khan and Aretha Franklin.

I was successfully hiding from the world on Broadway for about 25 years.

I wake up in the morning, and I look in a mirror, and I go, 'Is this really all I got? Is this all the universe has given me?'

I've always been afraid of who I am and not knowing what I can do.

I loved dancing.

What is so beautiful about a composer and a lyricist is that their job is to push a story along and not halt it.

If anybody says they're not afraid of themselves, they're lying!

I used to want to look like every European person that was being held up as a standard of beauty, whether in the industry or in life. Then I just realized that it's not in my genetic make-up. I decided instead to go for the gold in whatever I'm doing and just be as healthy as I can be.

I was never one of those actors who believed, 'I'm so gonna be an ingenue.' I already knew that wasn't gonna happen, and I decided not to torture myself with it.