I've gotten rejected a lot.
It wasn't until I saw 'The Color Purple' on Broadway when I was 15 that I really solidified acting is what I want to do professionally.
Sometimes you have to sacrifice your pride to really go after what you want.
Sometimes I need a slower pace, to slow my mind down and just be with nature, go outside.
I grew up spending a lot of time in church, almost every day, whether in choir rehearsal or praise team or Bible study - there was always a reason.
I was always getting caught for running my mouth. Which is why it was the best thing for me to get into acting so I could express myself.
For me, it's important to be the representation that I wanted when I was a young girl.
I feel that we all have missions and purposes in life. Part of mine is allowing women to feel beautiful in whatever they put on - or don't put on.
Designing wasn't something that I was always into, but I wasn't able to find clothes that I wanted to wear. I wanted to be able to walk into any store and have an idea of what I want and go and get it.
Clothing is so much a part of who we are; that's our way of expressing ourselves.
The sassy black woman who can land a good joke was sort of my go-to audition. Or playing a struggling mother.
I don't necessarily have one mentor or 'a' mentor. But I do pull inspiration from people, and that's always kind of served me well.
I've always known I wanted to be an actress. I didn't know quite how I was going to get there because I come from a small town called Simpsonville, South Carolina.
