Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I was born and raised in Hawaii.
Broadway is really, really hard.
Stevie Wonder was a big influence in my life.
We all have fears! Don't lie! We all have fears.
It takes a damn village to get a show on Broadway!
We weren't wearing shoes on a full-time basis until prom.
I have a lot of cultures within me - I'm basically chop suey.
If anybody says they're not afraid of themselves, they're lying!
I've always been afraid of who I am and not knowing what I can do.
Everyone makes mistakes, and we need to learn to forgive ourselves.
I was successfully hiding from the world on Broadway for about 25 years.
Sometimes I get frustrated with my own self because I'm such a perfectionist.
My goal is to stay in good health, and every day, I wake up and pray that I do.
Musically, I'm a huge fan of Stephen Sondheim, and I love, love 'Sweeney Todd.'
My mother played guitar by ear, and all of us sang except my father, bless his heart.
I never got to see the circus... I was always in love with being a trapeze artist, though.
As a human being, you find a way to survive, moment by moment, every single day of your life.
I'm an actress who likes to work as much as possible, so I'm very grateful for all these opportunities.
There is a struggle when you do represent so many countries within you, but that makes you who you are.
What is so beautiful about a composer and a lyricist is that their job is to push a story along and not halt it.
My mother taught us all to bake. It literally calmed us down, and she was able to get rid of all her frustrations.
To be honest, being a fat girl, when people are telling you you need to eat, it's the biggest thrill of your life.
When I was younger, my mother wanted me to look like Claudia Schiffer. I was like, 'We're not even German, but all right.'
I love people that go the distance. I hate things that are lukewarm. They've got to be one way or the other and go all the way.
The parts that I get to play are not based around the European beauty standards: They're more about character, and I love that.
'Miscast' is a family affair. It highlights so many different aspects of the industry in that one night, and it's a great evening.
I would have loved to play Atticus in 'To Kill a Mockingbird.' There's no music in it, but it doesn't mean I wouldn't want to do it!
I used to be a pop singer; well, not used to be. I am an R&B singer. My emphasis was on Stevie Wonder and Chaka Khan and Aretha Franklin.
I was never one of those actors who believed, 'I'm so gonna be an ingenue.' I already knew that wasn't gonna happen, and I decided not to torture myself with it.
On days I'm not working, I don't wear a ton of other makeup, but if I have to look like I care, I'll use this By Terry Ombre Blackstar eye shadow stick in Frozen Quartz and Eyeko mascara.
I woke up one day and thought, 'Enough is enough with bullying myself.' The war is within you, and that's also where it's won. You just have to tackle your insecurities and then let them go.
If someone puts a character in front of me - no matter what it is, whether there has been a film or not - I want to be that character, not imitate it. There's a difference - a big difference.
I used to not walk out the door; I was so afraid. Everything from, 'You shouldn't be here,' down to, 'Girl, don't wear those pants.' I was so sad. I tried my best to not even look in a mirror!
As you get older, whatever your struggles may be - how you sound, how you look, how you dress - you grow into yourself a little bit more. You end up realizing the world wants you and not a carbon copy of six other people.
Women put ourselves through so much. Really, everybody does; it's not a gendered thing. I think all of us are always gonna be tortured by some sense of inadequacy, no matter what. I don't know if there's a way to tell people not do this to themselves.
No one can bully me better than me. I'm the first person to the party going, 'Don't worry - you don't have to cut me down, 'cause I'm already there.' I struggled with all those voices and gave them so much power, to the point where they took over my life.
I was causing trouble in high school, and in order to get me to stop and to pass, they put me into theater, and I ended up winning a Shakespeare competition. All I had to do was imitate people properly, and I ended up going to the finals when I was about 16.
I used to want to look like every European person that was being held up as a standard of beauty, whether in the industry or in life. Then I just realized that it's not in my genetic make-up. I decided instead to go for the gold in whatever I'm doing and just be as healthy as I can be.
There were pockets of this career - whatever you want to call it - where I said, 'I've tapped out. I don't want to do this. I'm gonna go be a stage hand. I don't want to do this. I don't want to talk to people. I'm afraid of people. I'm going to walk away from everything that this was and is.'
It doesn't matter if you're a Victoria's Secret model or you're someone's 90-year-old grandma or you're a little kid who's getting bullied or you're that kid's bully - everybody feels like there's something going on that's more correct than what is. We all have to reach out to one another in that fear, and we'd be surprised to hear, 'Me, too.'