actresses-from-illinois

"I think they will see that Lucille has always done everything she could for those she loves but this season she learns the importance of honoring herself"

"So, they found another way to prosper with the limited opportunities presented to them"

"Access to the American dream was not an option in their community"

"You get to see that these beautiful boys did not come from a broken home. They came from a broken neighborhood"

"Acting gave me the opportunity to do outrageous things. It allowed me to be sad, happy, angry and lustful, even if it was just vicariously."

"It's such a great feeling to make people laugh. I know I've made people cry or want to slit their wrists, but to make people laugh is a very intoxicating, wonderful thing."

"Often, kids don’t appreciate the choices available, as if it’s either the street or nothing."

"A great example of colorism is to believe I can be compared to anyone,"

"It's unfortunate that the "hustle hard" thing can be toxic, too, to our lives. It's OK to grind, but don't grind your wheels off, pooh. Work hard, but work smart. Be able to leave a space for you to still enjoy it to where you're not looking at the end and resenting something you care about."

"You decide what beautiful means to you. We don’t all need to look the same. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, you decide what’s beautiful in the world. Not the other way around."

"God is so good. Always follow your dreams, own your purpose! Embrace God’s anointing."

"Learn to love yourself and all that other stuff will not matter."

"Everything happens for a reason, and everything is going to turn out the way it should."

"I think you can do anything you put your mind to. I think your mind is the worst thing you can use as a reason to not do something."

"Anytime you see Beyonce, Jay Z, Kanye West. Anytime a young black person's doing good, that's motivation for everybody else. Anytime, anytime, it's motivation. Use that fuel to push you forward. That's what I did"

"You can do anything as long as you don't stop believing. When it is meant to be, it will be. You just have to follow your heart."

"We need to stop separating ourselves by how dark or how light we are."

"Follow your heart’s truth with no need for personal gain other than the feeling produced when doing what you truly love."

"There is something about performance that both humbles and strengthens you simultaneously. It is where I am happiest and most liberated. My first performance was terrifying but totally thrilling."

"The best word I can use to describe how I feel when performing for an audience is FREE."

"If you become stressed out on stage, your audience becomes stressed with you. It’s important for us to remember that our energy as performers dictates the energy of the room. That said, we can’t take ourselves so seriously."

"Of course I had to answer a lot of questions when I announced I wanted to be a professional singer, changed my graduate school focus, and initially struggled as a waitress to pay my bills."

"No one in my immediate family is a professional musician, although the love of music is definitely prevalent."

"And since there were no professional artistes in my immediate or extended family, I didn’t know what the path would be. That said, I’m thankful for New York City and the courageous community of dreamers who have helped me understand that my dreams can be lived out loud."

"What we have to realise is that those questions and occasional resistance to our heart’s pursuits are usually coming from a place of love. Once I realised that, it gave me more room to cultivate and channel positive energy towards accomplishing my goals as a professional musician."

"I am the sixth of seven children. We moved to Zambia when I was three years old and when my father began working for World Health Organisation, we returned to Champaign where he worked as a professor of Veterinary Medicine and Immunology and my mother worked as an oncology nurse."

"My mother has a beautiful singing voice that she shares generously around the house and in church! (I always consider her my first voice teacher.) And my brother Itonde has a lovely voice and plays a bit of piano and violin."

"I’ve loved music for as long as I can remember, but didn’t consider making it a career choice until my early twenties. I studied the cello from the time I was eight years old through college and I write my songs on the piano. My primary instrument is my voice."

"I completed my undergraduate degree in Cultural Anthropology and African Studies also at the University of Illinois. After college, I spent a year and a half doing research in Kenya and Tanzania with plans of becoming a Medical Anthropologist."

"Know yourself, listen to your heart, and take risks. Individuality is the best thing anyone has to offer."

"My childhood dream was definitely to be a singer, but as a little girl I thought it was just that, a dream. In the African culture, as you know, it’s very rare to encourage a child to become an artiste. Since I was always involved in the arts, I simply looked at it as a way to be better rounded."

"Mistakes might happen, but honest music supersedes all of that."

"I will, however, say that one of the main lessons I’ve learned from such artistes who inspire me is this: Know yourself, listen to your heart, and take risks. Individuality is the best thing anyone has to offer."

"I also enjoy vegetarian cooking, writing/reading prose, and spending time with family and friends. Honestly, like anyone who works for themselves, it gets difficult to find balance - especially with my international travel schedule."

"In recent years I am trying to be more conscientious about work/life balance. It’s a work-in-progress."

"Thank you to my family and all who have supported, cheered, inspired, and loved me through my journey. Thank you to the Recording Academy for this honor ….and to the glorious Frankfurt Radio Big Band for making this project a reality. I am so, so, so grateful! Indeed, the journey is a Holy Room (oh, and I cut off my locs!)."

"One of the greatest blessings of my journey as a professional artiste has been the unconditional love and support of family."

"I was born in Champaign, Illinois. My father, the late Dr. Ibalaimu Kakoma was completing a post doctoral fellowship at the University of Illinois. He was a Rwandan although he grew up in Uganda. My mother, Elizabeth Nyarubona Kakoma, is a Ugandan."

"In many ways, Illinois is just as much my home as Africa because I spent the majority of my formative years there."

"I don’t have a particular favourite musician. There are so many that have inspired, taught, guided, and grounded me."

"Today I was nominated for my very first Grammy Award in the Best Jazz Vocal Album category. I am so overwhelmed with gratitude (and can’t stop crying!)"

"She's an actress. . . . She was a little bit Irish. And she decided she wanted to be two years younger."

"I feel that the people who pushed me the most, including the teachers, are the ones who made the greatest impression on me and loved me the most."

"At some point in life, she began giving her birth date as St. Patrick's Day 1918."

"I believe we should learn to appreciate our loneliness, loneliness is marvelous."

"An honest look because one of the things a recovered alcoholic must learn is honesty. I have to live with myself."

"You could be anything in front of that microphone, and that is what was expected of you."

"I think there is a genetic factor involved [...] If there is a history of alcoholism in your family, watch it."

"I don't think the Hollywood community is interested in what I can do, That's all right. I've never looked for a job in my life, and I'm not going to start now. I have plenty to keep me busy.""

"“If one has no sense of humor, one is in trouble.”"