I like Pirate’s Booty. Prunes and olives, too. I love hummus. I can eat that until I die. I tend to eat mostly organic food.
Beauty is not just a white girl. It’s so many different flavors and shades.
When I was around 18, I looked in the mirror and said, ‘You’re either going to love yourself or hate yourself.’ And I decided to love myself. That changed a lot of things.
New Jersey is a great place to live. And we have given some of the best talent to the world, from Jack Nicholson, John Travolta, to Jerry Lewis to Bon Jovi to Frank Sinatra.
You just have to connect with people who believe in your vision and who will work with you and advance your cause.
When you’re rapping, you do have to perform to a certain degree, but not every rapper is necessarily a gifted actor.
I feel strongly that women who look like me should feel great. So I am not changing.
I really don’t know how to be anyone else, and whenever I try to be anyone else, I fail miserably. Or I disappoint myself. It doesn’t build my self-esteem, and it doesn’t help me grow me at all.
Hip-hop definitely taught me a lot. Having to create your own identity and become known and respected in a male-dominated field – it requires some guts. There are times you have to be strong, and times when you have to stand alone for what you believe in.
There is no profession more essential than that of an educator, and it’s time for all of us to embrace and celebrate their importance and contribution to America’s children.
To step into acting was not that difficult a transition to make. What was difficult was the work and the practice that went into becoming good at it, because I hadn’t had any training.
Once you realize there is a Higher Power, you know you’re not alone, that you have a purpose on the planet. You control your destiny instead of letting the day lead you where it may. You seize it, take it and lead it.
I had to grow to love my body. I did not have a good self-image at first. Finally it occurred to me, I’m either going to love me or hate me. And I chose to love myself. Then everything kind of sprung from there. Things that I thought weren’t attractive became sexy. Confidence makes you sexy.
I enjoy just being me. I don’t need to be Queen Latifah, the brand, 24 hours a day.
There are times you can’t really see or even feel how sweet life can be. Hopefully its mountains will be higher than its valleys are deep. I know things that are broken can be fixed. Take the punch if you have to, hit the canvas and then get up again. Life is worth it.
For me, my criteria for making films is all about trying to do something different from the last time. So if I catch myself doing too much of one thing, I’m always trying to move away from that, because it’s not going to be challenging enough to keep my attention and focus.
For me, it might sound cliche, but beauty for me really does start on the inside. It’s like a state of mind, a state of love if you will. Then, whatever you can do on the outside is all like a bonus.
I’ve been giving back since I was a teen, handing out turkeys at Thanksgiving and handing out toys at toys drives for Christmas. It’s very important to give back as a youth. It’s as simple as helping an old lady across the street or giving up your seat on the bus for someone who is pregnant.
Be bold, be brave enough to be your true self.
Always follow your own path.