Chick Corea was a great influence on me, musically, as I was growing up.

I was a shy little girl, nothing like what I am now.

Singing was the big focus and outlet for me.

Chick Corea was a great influence on me, musically, as I was growing up.

I face every project the same way - do it right and give 110%. 100% isn't good enough.

My family is very theatrical.

When I was five years old I knew I wanted to act.

I have to approach my life in this way so I can do what I need to do, and do it very well.

I hated stand-up.

Watched Star Wars in 77 and that's when I got into watching films. I was just blown away by it.

It's all about humanity, humility, and integrity.

People who don't use the tools given to them only injure themselves.

I've played piano and guitar when I was younger.

My driving force is spirituality.

I fit into the quirky, character class type of actor.

My older sister Nikki went to Hampton music school in Virginia, then to another school later in New York.

So many comics have such low self-esteem.

There is a class system in acting just like in anything else. Black females fall in a category below black male actors.

And I used to listen to a lot of jazz.

We always performed for our church, but we also just performed whenever the family got together.

I'm not the classic type - fair skin, very beautiful women of a classic type, I'm talking about now.

Voice is my instrument.

If you're going to do something, make it right and make it as good as you can. Don't waste anybody's time, especially your own.

I got an early education from television.

This business is all about being seen, and the more people see you the better.

If I had to come up with something that just came to me, I think growing up in a small town, I want knowledge. I still think today, knowledge is one of the keys.

I didn't know I was a conservative when it didn't matter to me growing up.

My interests were in fantasy more than comics growing up.

The turning point in the process of growing up is when you discover the core of strength within you that survives all hurt.

Growing up in Hollywood it seemed like every kid was the child of some star. We had no idea that other people would think we were special, because there was no other lifestyle to compare it to.

For me, the great problem growing up in England was that I had a very narrow concept of what God can be, and it was damn close to an old man with a beard.

David and Dad didn't get along too well growing up. I mean we all got along, but it was harder on David, because David wasn't going to be the son that Dad wanted. But now they're like best friends.

My lyrics come from my experiences growing up in life, trying to find out and express who I am. That's basically it. I'm not trying to be a prophet or anything like that. I'm just reflecting on life.

I was born in 1961. Now I think the 16 years that elapsed between 1961 and the end of the wars is nothing. To a child growing up it felt like an eternity, an entirely different world.

I was growing up listening to Queen. Freddie Mercury threw those incredible melodies into his songs.

Although I was not aware of it at the time, the experience of growing up during the Great Depression was to have a profound impact on my intellectual and professional career.

Growing up, mostly in Montreal, I was an only child of loving parents.

I was a very observant child. The boys in my books are based on boys in my neighborhood growing up.

I don't mind snakes. Growing up in South Africa there were a couple a snakes around... and I'm not talking just about the government!

Growing up in public is especially hard sometimes.

You get used to sadness, growing up in the mountains, I guess.

I had a really bad temper, when I was growing up. Sport helped me channel that temper into more positive acts.

I think it would be very scary and very confusing if I didn't understand where people are coming from, but I've felt the exact same way for so many other bands, growing up. It's not really a big deal.

I don't think I ever set my goals that high. As a kid growing up I just wanted an opportunity to race and to be able to make a living doing it. It just came together.

I think the obvious answer is I was raised in New York City, so growing up, not only myself but my family, like my father, we would watch a lot of Scorsese films.

My father is a real idealist, and he's all about learning. If I asked for a pair of Nikes growing up, it was just a resounding 'No.' But if I asked for a saxophone, one would appear and next day and I'd be signed up for lessons. So anything to do with education or learning, my father would spare no expense.

Absolutely the worst thing about this job is the travel and being away from family. I have a wife and three wonderful children, the kids are all active in sports and it's very difficult to up and leave and miss them growing up.

There are things about growing up in a small town that you can't necessarily quantify.

I have the power of my height. Growing up, it was a total drawback. There was nothing good about it at all.