"I had been playing what I thought was a traditional role of a wife and I was miserable. Talking about this was very important because we created a marriage that made sense to us."

"Some of these children have gone through traumatic things"

"The show is not about focusing on those things, it’s about helping them move forward."

"I hope Dream School will have a positive impact on the children on the show and that it will help parents and teenagers who watch the show to communicate better"

"Even though my family was there for me,I wished I had to someone to talk Someone who tried to understand.I feel like parents don't talk to their children enough. Parenting isn't just about providing a roof over your child head and clothing them."

"At the time, my family and I didn’t know I was suffering from depression. I was a very quiet child who was always just in the background at school. I was withdrawn and didn’t really have friends, but I was focused on getting school done"

"The wealth of wisdom and knowledge you exude and lovingly give to those who care to listen. Thank you for not being selfish and for giving time for little old me you are highly appreciated, now book, or kanjani Connie Ferguson"

"Sometimes when you’ve failed, it’s hard to see past that failure"

"The aim of this show is to inspire the teenagers to get excited about their careers, despite their circumstances, and give them the tools they need to help them finish school"

"If I have a baby, if God gives me the strength and the patience, I always like to raise my baby up to one year before I can start hustling - just to bond because this industry by the time you get back on the horse, it gets hectic and you may never be there as much as you would like to."

"I don’t succumb to cliques. I can’t have that kind of pressure. My friendships have to be natural or really meaningful with people who share my vision‚ especially spiritually. The energy has to feel right and I think that has helped me not lose who I am in this often chaotic industry."

"Look‚ you get frustrated when you keep going at something and it doesn’t materialise‚ but for me that is when I stop and reflect. I check what this could mean for me‚ like working on my craft‚ checking my spirit and building that hunger to succeed when I do get the role."

"There is no formula as to how to keep yourself sane. It’s important to talk about it when you’re ready but we need to address it because people think I am the only one…the glowing people are most probably the ones hiding something."

"You need to find a mirror and ask: Do you love yourself? For you to stick around there must be a problem and it’s okay – we all have problems."

"I’ve been very fortunate. Having to work in such a tough yet competitive industry isn't easy. It can be quite difficult to maintain the standard. It’s good to still see that I can be hired for roles on TV."

"While I was home taking care of my child, I got time to re-evaluate my life and what I wanted to do next. I used that time to work on myself and take care of my mental health."

"I’ve always wanted to tell stories of dynamic African women such as Nokutela, Charlotte Maxeke… women that history finds a way to erase, those we don’t talk about enough. I feel that is my duty to tell their story," the 39-year-old says about her portrayal of Mdima-Dube being one of her lifelong dreams"

"I had a life-changing, massive audition for an international show that was going to be on Fox TV, but two months later I heard I didn't get it. I was gutted for months. After that I thought, 'I don't want to act for the rest of the year"

"I genuinely respect the gift of storytelling that I’ve been entrusted with. I know it comes from a higher place. Keeping my personal life separate from what I do for a living. At home, I’m a mom, a wife, a neighbour, a sister. I learnt very early in my career not to make the job my life."

"I’ve been toying with the idea of creating work that educates, stories about ordinary people. I love history, and with the internet becoming more accessible to many, there’s room to create work that speaks to audiences across the globe. There is a series that’s now in post-production which should air later this year. Look out for that one, it’s gonna be fantastic."

"If I were to wake up one day and decide not to act anymore, I’d be really grateful to have had those opportunities. I take none of them for granted"

"Depression is real and I am opening up for the first time about abuse and depression."

"While a woman will certainly support her partner, it is ultimately the man’s responsibility to ensure everything is in order."

"Communication is the second most important quality."

"It’s essential that a man communicates in a way his wife can easily understand. If he doesn’t communicate properly, it will lead to issues in the relationship. A relationship without effective communication is bound to face challenges."

"For refugee and displaced families who are observing the holy month far from their homes, faced with poverty, hardship, and uncertainty, the coronavirus pandemic adds another burden to their daily lives."

"Some of the most vulnerable communities in the world will fast with little means, and they cannot afford to be at risk. Please help prevention efforts and protect refugees this Ramadan."

"I would want my audience to see me as a neutral but firm personality, who would ensure the right things are done and said the way they should and ought to be said. I would love my audience to see me as an inspirational figure that understands their peculiar problems and is ever ready to reach out to them."

"I believe my personality which is the fun, extroverted and easy going will definitely be advantageous in making an impact."

"Oh, yeah, many, many times. I often cried on the phone when I was talking to my parents. At some point, I almost lost my confidence. My hair started to fall out from all the stress. My mother told me to come back home, but I told her that I believed in my songs and that I had to stay and give it a shot."

"My lawyer, Channing Johnson, introduced me to Adrian Miller and we talked about music. I was impressed with how he helped Anderson Paak build his career as an independent artist. That matched up well with what I wanted for myself. Adrian introduced me to DJ Chris Cox, who has over 60 number 1 hits on the Billboard Dance Chart. He made the remix for my single “Lost.” In January of this year my single “Lost” was released. The second week after my single was released, I made my debut on Billboard."

"My relationship at the time ended and I decided to go to Nashville to record country music and try something new. When I was in Nashville I unexpectedly received a phone call from the well-known songwriter Philip Lawrence. He asked me whether I could come to Los Angeles. It’s Philip Lawrence, so I got on the plane and met him in a studio in L.A. He had just finished rehearsing with Beyonce and Bruno Mars for the Super Bowl."

"It actually helped me sign contracts with record labels and management teams (…) it just went very fast after Idols."

"All contestants were imitating famous singers (…) I was imitating Vanessa Williams and managed to reach the finals"

"I have so many childhood memories of Morocco."

"I was raised as a Muslim but my family and I celebrated both Muslim and Christian holidays."

"My parents heard me singing and they were surprised because they did not know I could sing."

"We need to set up relay camps because we’ve been getting away… We haven’t been doing no handoffs and no training, nothing. We just kind of come to competition and just kind of wing based on talent."

"I’ve never been African champion in the 100m, so it’s something I’ve always wanted to accomplish"

"I think it’s consistent, I have no special objective as I’m just working on the first 60m of my 100m for this summer."

"When I went to France, I had a residence permit for skills and talents, and since I received a certificate while waiting for the passport and therefore the French nationality."

"Because I am a courageous woman, and the film's script was very powerful. It presented the truth, and we, Arab and Muslims in general, are afraid of the truth about us. We refuse to look at ourselves in the mirror."

"Nabil Ayouch has ruined my life and compromised my future; he didn’t keep his promises."

"I'm going back to prepare in the United States and I'll come back stronger. This isn't the end of my career."

"At the Olympics, every team is so on form because this is what they have been planning for, but anything can happen. We’ve focused on what we can control, like working on our structure"

"I find it’s the small details that really help and I spend so much time in the gym to prevent injury. It’s also to maintain my strength and I also watch my nutrition. If you are going to stay at this level, then you have to keep up with the youngsters and the energy they have."

"I have a Brazilian nationality, thus I already had a visa to visit France whenever I wanted to. I used to go to France once every three or four months. I did not insult Moroccan people, I insulted those who didn’t want to leave me alone, who didn’t see and understood the concept of the movie and believe in whatever the yellow journalism says about me […] In fact don’t consider ‘schizophrenic’ an insult as much as I consider it a fact."

"For over two years, I've been suffering from being labeled a 'whore.' I only played the part of a whore [in the film 'Much Loved'] and did it well. That's it. I am not really a whore. Generally speaking, the Moroccan media confuses my role in a film with reality. They have forgotten that I was an actress before that movie, and that I have played other roles on TV, in cinema, and in theater. But the word 'whore'... To this day, in Morocco, when one person wants to curse another, he calls him 'Abidar."

"I’ve had a couple of setbacks in my career since the 2012 Olympics and I just really wanted to go there again, because it is the pinnacle of hockey and was always my dream"