actresses-from-houston

"“You will be terrified, and it's OK that you don't know what the future holds. Some people will count you out because of the decision you've"

". “I do the best I can, which involves a lot of saying no to things, actually, and a lot of really organized scheduling and"

"When you think back in history about producers and artists or writers who’ve had good synergy, a lot of times they date, or they’re married, or there’s a friendship and a kinshi"

". My son spends as much time with his dad as he does with me. ... When you think back in history about producers and artists or writers who'"

"When you take care of yourself, you're a better person for others. When you feel good about yourself, you treat others better."

"I try to transition my energy into just having fun. In my experience, as a young black artist, you have to fulfill an archetype, or be a token —"

", "Happiness comes from within, not from external circumstances," encapsulates a powerful notion about the nature of true contentmen"

"I started off rapping when I was five and from rapping, I knew I always wanted to be in the entertainment industry."

"It's a dream come true, it's amazing. It's really fun, everybody here is very sweet. I've made friends with the whole cast, it's amazing."

"…It’s an interesting story. I think that people are gonna love [it]."

"I’m nothing like my character. Oh no!"

"During my recovery, I gave myself self-love and self-care, and I embraced being curvier. I accepted what my body wanted to be, To this day my arms, shoulders, breasts, and thighs are fuller. I have a little mommy pouch, and I’m in no rush to get rid of it. I think it’s real."

"After having my daughter, I made a conscious effort to regain control of my health and my body. But I didn't want to do a crash diet. I was a mom now. I needed to change my ways and set an example for my child. … A year later (around November 2013), my husband and I decided we wanted to try a completely plant-based diet … And so the journey began that helped me get into the best shape of my life. Little did I know the long-lasting effects it would have. I thought, like with most diets, I would feel deprived and hate food, that I would miss out on restaurants and celebrations, that I would get headaches and be irritable, etc. I was wrong about all of that. It took a few days to adjust, but what I discovered was increased energy, better sleep, weight loss, improved digestion, clarity, and an incredibly positive feeling for my actions and the effects it would have on those around me and the environment."

"We have to care about our bodies and what we put in them. Women have to take the time to focus on our mental health—take time for self, for the spiritual, without feeling guilty or selfish. The world will see you the way you see you, and treat you the way you treat yourself."

"Anyone who perceives my message as anti-police is completely mistaken. I have so much admiration and respect for officers and the families of officers who sacrifice themselves to keep us safe. But let's be clear: I am against police brutality and injustice. Those are two separate things."

"I'm not bossy. I'm the boss."

"“I just wanna encourage people to do what they’re passionate about and to stay persistent.”"

"“Rumi, who’s on the album, our youngest daughter, she was watching [at home], and I forgot to thank her so I get to thank her now. Thank you, Rumi.”"

"“When I look out there, I see myself.”"

"“I’d like to thank my beautiful husband, my beautiful three children who are at home watching.”"

"“Thank you so much. I’m trying not to be too emotional, and I’m trying to just receive this night.”"

"We are at the precipice of an incredible shift, the brink of history. I’m not here as a celebrity. I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother. A mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in. A world where we have the freedom to control our bodies. A world where we’re not divided. Our past, our present, our future, merge to meet us here."

"It’s time to sing a new song. A song that began 248 years ago. The old notes of downfall, discord, despair, no longer resonate. Our generations of loved ones before us are whispering a prophecy, a quest, a calling, an anthem. Our moment right now. It’s time for America to sing a new song. Our voices sing a chorus of unity. They sing a song of dignity and opportunity. Are y’all ready to add your voice to the new American song? Because I am. So let’s do this!"

"After the birth of my first child, I believed in the things society said about how my body should look."

"Whenever I’m ready to get a six-pack, I will go into beast zone and work my a– off until I have it, But right now, my little FUPA and I feel like we are meant to be."

"I’ve been through hell and back, and I’m grateful for every scar, I look at the woman I was in my 20s and I see a young lady growing into confidence but intent on pleasing everyone around her. I now feel so much more beautiful, so much sexier, so much more interesting. And so much more powerful."

"I’ve spent so many years trying to better myself and improve whatever I’ve done that I’m at a point where I no longer need to compete with myself. I have no interest in searching backwards. The past is the past. I feel many aspects of that younger, less evolved Beyoncé could never f*** with the woman I am today. Haaa!"

"In the past, I spent too much time on diets, with the misconception that self-care meant exercising and being overly conscious of my body. My health, the way I feel when I wake up in the morning, my peace of mind, the number of times I smile, what I’m feeding my mind and my body—those are the things that I’ve been focusing on. Mental health is self-care too."

"“I want to show that you can have fun and have purpose, be respectful and speak your mind. You can be both elegant and a provocateur. You can be curvy and still be a fashion icon. I wish this freedom for every person. I have paid my dues and followed every rule for decades, so now I can break the rules that need to be broken. My wish for the future is to continue to do everything everyone thinks I can’t do."

"One of my most satisfying moments as a mom is when I found Blue one day soaking in the bath with her eyes closed, using blends I created and taking time for herself to decompress and be at peace."

"I have made an extreme effort to stay true to my boundaries and protect myself and my family. No amount of money is worth my peace."

"I try to only tour when my kids are out of school. I always dreamt of a life where I could see the world with my family and expose them to different languages, architecture and lifestyles."

"Raising three kids isn't easy. The older they get, the more they become their own individuals with unique needs, hobbies and social lives, My twins are God-sent. Parenting constantly teaches you about yourself. It takes a lot of prayer and patience. I love it. It's grounding and fulfilling."

"They come to my office after school, and they are in the studio with me. They are in dance rehearsals. It's natural that they would learn my choreography."

"(In one of your essays in the book, from 2012, you write about Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez and say they are "[d]oing no more than supporting and promoting patriarchal and capitalist goals." Do you still feel this way about them, even as they—Beyoncé especially—are often held up as feminist icons?) AC: I do, but I know that I would have a lot of women of color of younger generations argue with me about that. I come from a generation of radical feminism; we believed in not using your body for financial gain and that sexualization fed into violence against women. I know that dates me. The performances that both Jennifer Lopez and Beyoncé give are highly sexually charged, and they've made a lot of money off of a lot of men by sexualizing themselves as exotic beauties. Both of them have dyed their hair blonde, straightened it, weaved it, which feeds into a fantasy about women and women of color. I come from a very different perspective, and I don't believe that anything in terms of personal gain or materialism is really helping the rest of the world. If you make that much money, instead of buying a humongous mansion, go back to your community and start community projects and talk to your legislators about changing some of the laws [that mean] young men of color who have felonies because [they dealt] drugs as teenagers can no longer integrate into society. Moving away from Beyoncé and J-Lo—I'm sure they do a lot of good deeds—I'm very lucky I have a roof over my head. I can eat healthy food, my children have coats in cold weather, they have an education. I don't think a human being needs much more beyond that."

"Someone else asks Davis if Beyoncé is a terrorist. The audience giggles, but the question is serious. During a panel discussion on liberating the Black female body earlier this year, feminist activist bell hooks described Beyoncé as a terrorist and antifeminist who was "colluding in the construction of herself as a slave." In an emollient reply, Davis said that she liked the fact that Beyoncé had sampled Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's speech on feminism on her album. The following day, I ask Davis more about it. "Whatever problems I have with Beyoncé, I think it is so misleading and irresponsible to use that word in connection with her. It has been used to criminalize struggles for liberation. But we don't use the words terror and terrorism to describe US history and the racism of the pre-civil rights era.""

"I know I live a charmed, beautiful life and nobody wants to hear a celebrity whine. The last thing I want to do is complain; I love what I do and I know every job comes with a downside."

"I did read several books and do some research just to be as familiar with it as possible. But I am not a particularly outwardly political person. I leave that to the other half of my family. And so I focused as much, if not more, on [my character] Janet Mayes, and being a forensics expert, and what it would be like for her in that circumstance as much as what our relationship is overall."

"It's about getting the kids up and fed, getting one to school, getting the other down for a nap, going to the grocery store, picking one up from school, getting the other one down for another nap, cooking dinner... I live my life at these two extremes. I'm either a full-time stay-at-home mom or a full-time actress."

"I was honoured to be on our next performer’s new video. And if I ever record an album, I want this guy to produce it and make me beautiful duets, ‘cause he’s a freakin’ genius!"

"I didn't get to masturbate this morning, and I've been dying to, so I've gotta go."

"Marrying into money was not a good thing for me."

"I want to be the new Marilyn Monroe and find my own Clark Gable."

"When you put the corset on it gives you a glimpse into what those women's lives must have been like, a little bit. Just the fact that they did that to themselves to look a certain way gives you an idea of how important it was to be a proper young lady in those times, to kind of fit the mold of what they were trying to accomplish socially. The director, Jay Russell told me to use the corset as a device to remind myself that not only physically, but emotionally, she was trapped in her surroundings and wanted desperately to get out. It was definitely a reminder because the thing is so tight!"

"I think it caught on because the stories that these four girls have individually in the book are extremely relatable. They’re very real teenage experiences. I think the friendship between the four girls is something that is more realistic than a lot of the relationships we see between girls in movies lately. A lot of the time it’s like backstabbing or petty or superficial. I think most girls’ relationships are real friendships like these. I don’t think they’re that much more dramatic."

"It's more like giving people a taste of what the tour will be like. It's getting people to hear the music to a different sound … We remixed some of the songs so they sound totally different. It's really energetic."

"My sister and I really showed an interest in [performing] and dedication, and [our mother] was like, 'How can I tell my kids no?' It's the same as kids that are going into sports. Parents support them and push them."

"Andre [Recke] and I and my mom worked very hard to really get good music that I related to and was age-appropriate for me and wasn't just cheesy pop stuff."

"There are definitely people I respect and I love their music, but there was never really an artist that I said, "I want to be just like them, I love the way their career is going. I love their music." It wasn't really like that. I wanted to be like myself."

"On the second album I worked with a lot of people that I worked with on the Metamorphosis album. And when I worked on Metamorphosis I was so nervous and shy about going into the studio and working with people, they eventually toward the end made me feel so comfortable and so secure with myself. I loved working with them. I have a great relationship with them. I talk to them [all the time]. When we started talking about the second album, I was like, "I want to work with all the same people." They knew what was going on in my life, what I was going through. I would call them and say, "I feel like this right now. I want a song about this..." I never really felt like I had enough time to write my whole album and I don't know if I'm secure enough with myself to do that. But I wrote three songs on the album, one I wrote with my sister. It's so personal and these people really got what I was going through and how I feel inside. I think that's what makes it good and that's what makes me relate to them."