I don't think I'm even close to fulfilling my potential. And I think also that, unlike a pianist or a flutist, an actor has an instrument that is con….

The No. 1 reason women stay in abusive relationships - because they're not able to take care of themselves financially. It's also the No. 1 reason wh….

I think sometimes in life we want to ignore the problems of society and just think about the good. I believe in positive thinking and affirmative liv….

Idea of holding each other’s hands at the Women’s March—it feels like we are being invited to do that every day. So many of us are feeling attacked, ….

I've always been a writer because I've always been a student. My mom's a retired professor, so I come from a very academic background. I love writing….

I'm here not just as an actress but as a woman, an African-American, a granddaughter of Ellis Island immigrants, a person who could not have afforded….

Whenever I talk to survivors [of a domestic abuse relationship] who have lived through that and are on the other side and their whole perspective on ….

I'd figure out ways to use role-playing in the healing of people..

When somebody shows up at your job and jeopardizes your job, yelling and screaming, that's financial abuse. It threatens your ability to take care of….

That's what acting is - it's about having the courage to allow your audience into the private moments of your characters' lives..

I really love research. It's one of the things I love most about my job. I feel like it's me in the lab cooking up the character..

I have to do the work of self-love and affirmation, and say, "I am a woman, I am a person of color, I am the granddaughter of immigrants, I am also t….

My brain and my heart are really important to me. I don't know why I wouldn't seek help to have those things be as healthy as my teeth. I go to the d….

We need to be willing to be uncomfortable, to be flawed, to be imperfect, to own our voice, to step into our light, so that we can continue to inspir….

People don't think about the fact that when Barack Obama's parents had him it was illegal for them to be married in several states in this country. S….

Human beings are complicated and flawed and unique, but we all have a story to tell. Gone are the days where our lead characters can only look like s….

For me, 40 feels like a beginning. I'm in the middle of so much new - with this career, the kids, and I'm still sort of a newlywed. I'm excited to be….

I am co-writing a screenplay now and I'm working on the rights to another story I want to do. So I plan to produce and direct. So, for me, I don't re….

You know what's funny is that I have this ongoing relationship with the city of Washington D.C. I went to George Washington University, and my nickna….

We can't say that we believe in each other's fundamental humanity, and then turn a blind eye to the reality of each other's existence, and the truth ….

I've been doing this work [ambassador of VDay]for a long time, and there are so many ways that we have to work to eradicate domestic violence and vio….