Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Remember to be yourself.
Hold your dreams, don't ever let it go
Never compromise and sell yourself short.
I want to do stories that inspire people.
I feel the most vulnerable when I'm in love.
I was a cheerleader in high school, but I love to play basketball.
I truly admire President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
I think sometimes if you let it all hang out, it makes you a target.
One thing I'm passionate about is directing. I've always wanted to direct.
Oh, you know, I think it was definitely a little pressure, to remake something like 'Fame'.
I feel truly blessed to be one of the many black women who are leading ladies on television.
I think a lot of young people don't realize the price of fame is a lot higher than they imagine.
I love to push myself! Stepping outside of my comfort zone is what will make me a better artist.
Singing is my passion and something that I still love to do and Im always going to want to do it.
I love Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, and The Supremes, because I'm kind of old-school at heart.
When I booked 'Hairspray,' I really didn't have a support system other than my family and friends.
A lot of people don't know, but I love soul food. I love fried chicken and pork chops, all of that.
Growing up, all my friends used to say 'Naturi, you are so dramatic!' and I would think to myself, 'Thank you!'
Starz is a network that's going for the content that's extremely honest and pushing the envelope and is provocative.
Singers have a lot in common with actors because you have to dig deep into a song and show the audience what you are feeling as you sing.
I deal with emotional pain through therapy, writing, therapy in music. I think emotional pain is best dealt with when you use art to express it.
Family is hugely important to me, because like I said, it takes a village to raise a child. That's my theme. That's how I really feel about life.
God is real. God is in me and in my life. I've been blessed, and he continues to bless me, and that is one thing that I will always know for sure.
Professionally, I want to be remembered for how hard I worked and how I put my heart and soul into my work. Personally, I want people to remember my heart.
I feel like being pregnant and entering this new stage has made me stronger and more excited about life in general. Everything seems so much more purposeful.
I definitely feel like, as a singer, I've been able to transition into acting because I always saw them in the same vein. It's all about connecting and telling a story.
I want to give my daughter that Caribbean influence. But also, just being a black girl in this country, I want her to grow up with culture and confidence, and with love.
I feel the most vulnerable when I'm in love. When my heart is open, and when life is making me feel like I have to open up myself completely. Love has a tendency to do that.
I want to be back on Broadway one day. That's a dream of mine. There's nothing like live theater, and I think it's so important for me to be able to be on stage with an audience that responds.
My whole life has been about working and being in the girl group and being on stage and being an actress, but now I get to really enjoy a bigger purpose, which is motherhood, so I'm really excited.
I work out and go to the gym, but I still enjoy my soul food and snacks. But I’m a pretty petite young woman, and I just do everything in moderation and make sure that I just keep everything together.
You have to think like a businessman or a businesswoman, and I can't wait to continue to grow, as an actress, but to also continue to grow as a brand and show people that I have so much more to offer.
I work out and go to the gym, but I still enjoy my soul food and snacks. But I'm a pretty petite young woman, and I just do everything in moderation and make sure that I just keep everything together.
I definitely want my career to continue to branch out. I've had the pleasure of working in different areas of entertainment, from being in the music business as a teenager in a girl group to doing Broadway.
I was pretty young when I decided I wanted to, well, more so be a singer. I started singing in church in my hometown, East Orange, New Jersey. I knew when I was about five or six that I wanted to be a performer.
When I was coming up, we didn't have the movement of Black Girl Magic or Black Girls Rock, but my parents made it their business to make sure I saw positive images of myself and celebrated images of black women.
I hike quite a bit when I'm in L.A., so that helps me clear my head. But usually I recharge by going to church, having family dinners, girls' night out, or just simply relaxing at home watching one of my favorite movies.
One of my biggest inspirations growing up was Whitney Houston, so I was devastated to hear about her passing. I'm from East Orange, New Jersey, and started singing at New Hope Baptist Church, so she was like my fellow Jersey girl.
For my first role, I had to audition five times. I've gotten a lot of no's and rejections. But I just had to keep working hard. I took classes; I worked on my craft and continued to work with an acting coach and just didn't give up on myself.
Starting in music, where I get a chance to connect with the lyrics of a song, I learned so much about performing on stage and connecting to your audience and to what you're singing about. Singing is very emotional. Every song has its own purpose.
When you're singing, it can be looked at as a monologue, in a way. If it's about telling a story and connecting with your audience, you can do that through song, through dialogue, or through a monologue. That's what's special about being an entertainer.
For people who don't know or didn't know that I started off as a singer, singing requires a certain level of drama, in itself. Honestly, it really prepared me to do this, and I've been really blessed to be able to transition into the acting world very smoothly.
From film to film, I realize my strengths and my weakness, and I realize how much better I get. I learn the lingo, I ask questions and I'm on set trying to figure out which shots they're going to use. For me, it's exploring the art. It's not just making a movie.
I definitely want my career to continue to branch out. I've had the pleasure of working in different areas of entertainment, from being in the music business as a teenager in a girl group to doing Broadway for three years in 'Hairspray,' and also doing TV and film.
I was excited to play Lil' Kim and I wanted to do the role justice. I worked really hard on that role, whether it was performing the rhymes, studying the dialect, her swagger and her stage performances. I wanted people to see my range and stretch my wings as an actress.
I'm really starting to learn the value of silence and meditation. I keep my sanity in the middle of a hectic day by taking some me time or sometimes watching a guilty pleasure on TV, doing absolutely nothing, or just hanging out with friends and family. They keep me grounded and centered.
When I'm working, on stage, entertaining people, or watching someone do something amazing, it inspires me to be the best artist that I can be. I enjoy being around art - whether it be a museum, a Broadway show - or even writing a poem. Those are things that make me feel alive and inspire me.
I don't just want to be a cute girl in a comedy or the actress who just does the same thing over and over again. I want to play roles that are distinct. I want to have a more varied career like actresses Viola Davis or Angela Bassett - those are the people that I grew up watching and admiring.
As a black actress you've got to work doubly hard. But it doesn't ever get me to the point where I give up on myself. It just motivates me to be more prepared, focus and disciplined. That's why I care so much about doing black films and making sure that we represent and are represented correctly.
Never compromise and sell yourself short. I've been in the music business, a girl group . . . I've been through so many different things in my career, and when you compromise and try to let go of who you are, you wind up being unhappy, and what is success without happiness. You have to have both, and that is important to me.