Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I want a career filled with a lot of variety.
It's just always been in my heart to perform.
Acting is communication. It's giving and receiving.
I will never forget my first Valentino Haute Couture show.
I'm very grateful to Barry Jenkins, who took a chance on me.
I used to climb trees and ride my bike way too fast downhill.
I think I learned the value of being more patient with myself.
The black community is under attack in so many different ways.
I'm not going to ever feel bad about sharing what my dreams are.
I love big jewelry trends and moments, especially some gold hoops.
I'm trying to be what I want to see more of: Black women onscreen.
I left before I had the opportunity to pursue work more widely in Chicago.
Hollywood has had a very limited way of telling stories about black people.
I'm a huge fan of 'The Avengers,' but 'Black Panther' was so special to me.
The Kate Spade woman is a classy sort of working woman who's still stylish.
I used to have really bad acne and so there's a cream and a gel that I use.
My favorite artist is J. Cole. I like Kehlani a lot. Teyana Taylor is dope too.
The only thing I'm sure of is that I want to keep doing work that speaks to me.
There was never a moment when I thought I'd be a dentist, I've always wanted to perform.
I'm hopeful that, at the end of my career, wherever it takes me, there's a lot of variety.
I feel there's a really raw quality in the Chicago theater community that's really special.
I'm not going to sit around and wait for some old studio executive to decide my career path.
I started off with the flute and French horn, and then I was playing trumpet in the jazz band.
Fashion is another opportunity for me to break through boundaries and to be seen wearing things.
Making films is such a large, collaborative effort and there's so many people who are a part of it.
We all live in different worlds and situations, so what's the issue with representing that on screen?
To see a young black woman being loved for just who she is - her hair, her skin, her clothes - is powerful.
We're seeing more black women saying: 'This is who I am; this is what I've been given.' And it's beautiful.
I definitely want to get into producing. I want to be on the side of the table where I can give people jobs.
I'm not extra, I'm not going to be the person walking around the house in an extravagant gown during quarantine.
Instead of asking for permission, we're seeing more artists and creatives taking control over the stories we tell.
It's not about opening a door and shutting it right behind you. I want to keep it open so others can come behind me.
Some things shoot in Chicago, but even those things that shoot there still cast their bigger roles in L.A. or New York.
It's important for me to not be put into any type of box because that steals the fun of acting. I want to do everything.
We witness so many people lose themselves in this industry, and sacrifice who they really are for success and accolades.
I'm committed to jumping into roles, worlds, and stories that historically actors who look like me have been left out of.
I know for me personally, I'm a person that tends to pull back from the people that love me when I'm going through something.
Who do I have a cinematic crush on? I mean, it's such a go-to: Michael B. Jordan. I was like, it's everybody's go-to. Who else?
Fashion, film, and music - all these industries have ways of putting us in a box. Ultimately my goal is to push those boundaries.
'Beale Street' is such an intimate story that I think it requires intimate connections between the artists that are a part of it.
My mom put me into a performing arts elementary school back in Cincinnati, so I started studying acting in school when I was seven.
I always have to find things that I relate to and understand in the characters that I play; otherwise, it won't feel that authentic.
Well, I used to model back in high school, and I was one of those people that, every week I was tuning in to 'America's Next Top Model.'
Once upon a time you could actually unplug and it wasn't, like, a weird thing. Now your friends will say, 'I'm fasting from social media.'
I think a lot of times for women, especially in this industry, we're forced to do things for beauty that aren't good for what we already have.
I'm very grateful that 'Beale Street' was that opportunity for me to be introduced to the industry in that way and have some doors open for me.
I've determined my style - I like to call it elegant funk. You'll see me in some really beautiful gowns but I'll still have my septum piercing in.
Watching 'Moonlight,' I just recognized this patience in the film - allowing moments to live and linger - and I just thought that was so beautiful.
We all have those moments when you're sitting in your feelings and you're sitting in your thoughts and you're taking in what your current situation is.
I think with the 'Fresh Prince,' there were all of these really interesting personalities and characters, and yet there's so much love in that household.