As long as you keep going, you'll keep getting better. And as you get better, you gain more confidence. That alone is success.
One of the scariest moments was being on Tyler Perry's first movie, 'Diary of a Mad Black Woman.'
The first time I ever actually had a line was on 'A Different World', my best friend Cree Summer's show. I was in L.A. visiting her, and she said, 'Hey, there's a walk-on part, why don't you audition for it?'
I was an only child, and my mom threw me into some modeling classes to get me out of my shell.
Furniture should always be comfortable. And always have a piece of art that you made somewhere in the home.
I've noticed that wherever I've lived, I've either painted murals or done something sort of ridiculously over the top to make a space my own.
Anything salty and crunch is a world of perfection to me. Put chips in front of me, and I will eat to the bottom of the bag. Because I have the tendency to do this, I found these amazing Eden Brown Rice Chips. They're the perfect amount of salt and crunch, and there's nothing in them.
Every night before bed, I drop down to the floor and do 20 sit-ups, 5 push-ups and stretching. No matter what the day has been like, I drop and give myself 20 every single night.
The key to my perseverance was absolutely loving the craft of acting. I just figured that if I kept doing it, at the very least I would get better at acting. Even if I didn't become a tremendous success, as long as I knew I was improving and getting better, to me, that was success.
I try to be mindful of snacking, but salty chips sometimes sneak in. I tend to avoid sugars - luckily, I am more of a 'salty tooth' - but I try to keep my sugar intake to a minimum and find some healthy alternatives when a craving hits.
I recommend people develop a fear of elevators, like I have. Even if something is on the tenth floor, I'm walking up. If you don't have claustrophobia, pretend you do and take the stairs everywhere! It ends up being so healthy!
Hanging out with my girlfriends is my sanity saver. We go out for a bad chick flick and dinner. I suggest you break free from the guys, see a really silly, girly movie, and get a little something to eat afterwards. It feels like a treat.
I saw 'Mahogany' and 'Lady Sings the Blues' when I was little and thought, 'That's what I want to do.'
I tried martial arts classes for three weeks, but I quit because you actually get hit. I just want to do the movie kind of martial arts.
Have the pride of the brown girl and know that you'll figure out your own beauty in time.
My philosophy is, 'Eat when hungry, stop when you're full.'
I was so shy, it almost paralyzed me in social settings. And as shy people know, that can become a vicious cycle: The more uncomfortable you feel around people, the more you retreat, and the more shy you get.
It took many years of acting classes to get even remotely comfortable, but that's OK. It helped me so much on a personal level, not to mention professionally.
The world tells lots of people the light is red. You have to trust yourself and say, 'I think the light is green, and I'm going to keep doing this.'
Feeling successful is internal, not external.
