"No, I don’t know how to. I never back out. I won’t sleep well if I back out, and that is the way God made me. If my heart is set on something, I must achieve it, there must be success in that thing because I believe that is why God is still keeping me in it."

"A man should not feel threatened irrespective of the position his wife occupies because God has made him the head. Rather, he should always take care of her and never maltreat her. It is a situation that the husband and wife have to work through."

"If the right people can be put in the right places, we would be able to float an airline that would be successful."

"They even made things more difficult for me for having the effrontery to come into a domain that was exclusively for men."

"We have to train our people, Africans in particular, so that we can manage our airlines by ourselves and when this happens, we are sure of having vibrant airlines within our sub-region as well as making the aviation industry in Africa a more competitive industry all over the world."

"I believe in you, all you need to do is to show me that you can go up and come down on your own. Go ahead, I am praying for you and I know you will succeed."

"If you are not from the ‘right part’ of the country, if you don’t speak the ‘right language’, you won’t get all the support and encouragement."

"I didn’t want to do what everyone else was doing at the time. I wanted something unique, something special, something challenging, something that would be fulfilling."

"What COVID-19 has taught us is that health system resilience is the job of everyone."

"I am one of those people who put 100% into whatever I am doing, so side hustles would never work for me. It has to be all in!"

"I’m a scientist, you can see them blinking."

"Shirley's husband, Marty Ingels talk about the actress."

"Shirley truly cares about her grandchildren, children, trees, the UPS man and me — in that order."

"Yet I'm now seeing Patrick as an adult and an actor onstage. He's a damn good actor. It's wonderful to see how he works."

"I read. But to be very honest, I don't have time for hobbies. I've been working like crazy. I just came back from a signing. You take everything you have, records...pictures... movies... CD's and you have a booth where you sign them for the public."

"I tell the story of my life, how I got into show business, my two husbands and, of course, we show a lot of photographs."

"To tell you the truth, I was never attracted to handsome men because they were so attracted to themselves!"

"And I thought, I want to tell people who I am, the life that I had as a child, being married all my life. I mean, you know, I never had affairs with a lot of men; that was not my case. But I was very devoted to the two husbands I've had."

"But I could sing. It was given to me; it was a gift. And I thought everybody could sing."

"The lovely thing about being a grandparent is you can just love them to pieces, spoil them–and then give 'em back! You don't have that extra responsibility. You just have fun, FUN. It's inspiring for me to watch how they grow, and who they become through the nurturing of both their mother and their father."

"She had expressed to me she was frustrated, she’s grateful for her career but she was being offered the same thing and never the lead."

"I used to hate reading out loud as a kid because of my dyslexia, so my books are a message to kids. It doesn’t matter what your situation is in life – your path is what you choose it to be."

"When you are starting out, show how hard you work. There’s always room for advancement. Educate yourself on what everybody else in the market is getting, and then you ask for what you deserve. You’re not always going to get it, but you also have to be willing to walk away at some point."

"My dream role is that of a producer – a woman behind the scenes – who creates roles for diversity in films. I want to help create an industry that demonstrates what our society is as a whole."

"I should be married and have 19 kids, And now I’m thinking my eggs are dying on the shelf. They’re going to go past their expiration date. But it’s what I chose, so I’m fine with that decision."

"I think it gives me a stronger connection and a better short-hand when working with people whose practice I respect. I used to come in on days that I wasn’t scheduled, just so I could watch the other actors."

"I came from humble beginnings and I lead a very modest life. I have a perceived glamorous job that takes me all over the world and I get to dress up every now and again with diamonds and all that glittery stuff but at the end of the day, I’m still a little girl from Alabama and my roots are deep and I don’t need help staying grounded."

"For me, it’s about embracing our inner beauty and having it seen outwardly. The root of it is not about being valued for looks; it is about empowerment and Black women owning who they were and their own place in history."

"I actually am not the best in front of an audience. I have severe stage fright. So I had to confront that. And in public speaking, I always get extremely nervous before any speech that I have to do, and that has not dissipated at all. And so I had to embrace the fact that I will likely always have stage fright."

"I see producers as the people who fit all the pieces together. I always felt that if I relied on other people to get me work, then I’d be out of work rather quickly, because, like you said, people only see you in these archetypal roles. By producing, I get to hold the reins a bit tighter while providing opportunities for other marginalized storytellers."

"When you’re in your regular private life, it’s just so strange to be known. I think also with the advent of the internet, people no longer have the luxury of introducing themselves. And so, there’s always a perception about people."

"I think a lot of people lose the advantage in the negotiating process if they are not willing to walk away. And I'm always willing to walk away."

"I’m at my happiest when I’m out in nature. When the sun is shining and birds are nearby and I’m sleeping and can appreciate the things around me."

"With time comes experience and you learn that if you don’t break out of those boxes yourself, no one else will allow you to."

"African-American women were living at the time where segregation was the letter of the law, They were basically treated as second-class citizens, but they weren’t complaining. They knew that they had more to offer, and they basically rolled up their sleeves and they did the work to be a part of something greater than themselves."

"What I learn from them is to continue to enjoy the process and have that free spirit about approaching the work and to not be so rigid."

"Life is full of challenges and I encountered so many obstacles when I started acting"

"For the LORD your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you."

"There is danger in letting people misname you. If you’re a fire, do not answer when they call you a spark."

"Drink water, do your squats, wear your wellies, eat your vegetables, wear your lipstick, and don’t let boys be mean to you."

"If we start being honest about our mental health, instead of pretending they don’t exist, then maybe we’ll be the change we desire, and perhaps make the world a better place than we found it."

"The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it. This is where we live, and it is up to you and me to protect the mother earth who nourishes us."

"Follow your energy and do what you love all the time; the distinction between work and play dissolves."

"Life is short. Make every side-eye count."

"Be ready because women have decided that we will work. We will no longer rely on men. When I say work, it’s real work ooo. All work is work."

"I did not know one day l would be able to talk about my secret because l thought nobody actually cares. I later realized l will not be helping anybody and am thankful about it. You can actually face your fears and conquer them at the same time, that is what l chose to do. Just do you, Just do what you love. Don’t do it because people are going to look at you and think that you are a woman."

"My society taught me that I have to be a mother to be appreciated and every time I went online, I would have one troll or two say ‘you never born? But I’m thankful that that didn’t break me."

"I’m literarily telling women and men, it really doesn’t matter if you can’t bear children. What really matters is what you would do for the world, for the universe."

"I was told I couldn’t have kids and so, I had to have a hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) to have a life again and to stop going through what I was going through. I’m literally telling women and men, it really doesn’t matter if you can’t bear children. What really matters is what you would do for the world, for the universe."

"Dear black girl, don't be afraid to shine. Your hair is beautiful and your skin is divine."