Life’s not about sitting at home in front of the TV waiting for your life to begin. Get out there and take some chances.
I believe that the kids, young people should have an opportunity to have Oscar nominated actors in their movies too.
I was taught from a young age that many people would treat me as a second-class citizen because I was African-American and because I was female.
I never really took any acting classes. I’m just a natural ham, I guess.
What would your life be like if you found out you had 3 weeks left? And you know that you had not begun to live? And you had all these dreams and all these possibilities. And all these things you wanted to do and things you wanted to say and now time’s up?
If my brother and I wanted money in our pockets, we had to get jobs – my first was at 15, at Burger King. We had to come up with ways to create an income.
I’ve loved car racing all my life. I watch NASCAR regularly, and drag racing because we have Raceway Park in New Jersey. I think I got it from my father.
There are a lot of people who helped make Queen Latifah who she is today. I don’t forget, but a lot of people do and get big heads. My mom will make me walk the dogs or take out the trash when I go home. I’m not allowed to get a big head; I’ve still got to do the simple things in life.
The good thing about movies is that they’re subjective. You can connect to different themes depending on your own perspective.
Sometimes you do have to bank on yourself. You do have to believe in your ideas enough to really get out there and fight for it despite what people think of some young kids from the hood.
Sometimes when I am in a situation that I have never been in, I kind of pull back a little bit to observe things; it doesn’t really last long though I have to. I’ve resigned to myself to the fact that I have to be me.
Running for office was definitely something I’ve thought about. When I was younger, I wanted to major in political science. And I’ve been engaged in current events since I was a kid. If I can make a difference and feel passionately and capable, then I would. Why not?
Racism is ignorant. And it’s stupid. And it’s old. And it’s played out. So beat it already with that, you know what I mean? ‘Let’s all get along’ – I’m so tired of that damn sentence, but it’s true.
If I ran into a 19-year-old version of myself, I’d just tell her to live, full out. I might also tell her to go ahead and have a few babies and not worry about the timing of it.
My mom has always been my champion. She was very smart and grounded. She said, ‘Save your money. Pay your taxes. Don’t put everything in one basket,’ but she let me explore and be creative.
Lets be clear, Dolly Parton is a rapper. Somewhere before all the country, I don’t know what happens up there in the mountains when you’re growing up, but she has been spitting rhymes for a very long time – 50 years I’d say.
I wish every woman would love herself and embrace what she was given naturally.
It was a very vulnerable time going from being insecure about my body and who I am to becoming comfortable with me. I had to tune out what the hell everybody else had to say about who I was. When I was able to do that, I felt free.
I’m not allowed to get a big head, I’ve still got to do the simple things in life.
Those curveballs are always coming-eventually, you learn to hit some of them.