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" I'm influenced by many things. Simply turning on the television, I feel inundated with images and messages to be a certain way. So I try to limit my influences by being aware of what I allow into my environment. I'm always conscious of what's trying to creep into my subconscious. "

Teyonah Parris

Environment

Trying

Feel

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" I've wanted to be an actress my whole life, and the - none of the women I aspired to be like had natural hair. "

Teyonah Parris

Wanted

Hair

" I think social media is a slippery slope because while you're projecting something out to people, they also project back onto you what they want to see. "

" As a girl, I remember looking up to pop singers, and they all had long, straight weaves and light skin. And I thought, 'That's what I have to look like if I'm going to be fierce and sexy and all those things.' "

" When I choose a role, what I'm looking for is the ability is to tell our stories. Me being a black woman, that's just a given. It's going to be a part of any role I do, making sure I tell it truthfully and nuanced and in a way that many people can relate to. "

" I want to continue to strive towards deepening my relationship with God and finding peace in whatever trials or circumstances I may be given. "

" I went to middle school and high school, and my drama teacher, Ms. Cooper, basically nurtured me. It was always a part of my life, and my parents allowed it to be. "

" I went straight from filming the second season of 'Survivor's Remorse,' and the creators over there were so supportive in letting me go early so I could film 'Chi-Raq.' And that was an amazing experience. "

" Generally, when I'm going to a new project, I take my own makeup. I'll explain to them what it is that I would like. If they are receptive, we figure it out together. If they're not, I'll be going to back to my trailer and doing my own makeup. And that's the same for hair. "

" I got my first relaxer when I was nine years old. This was in the '90s, and I convinced my mom to let me perm my hair so I could wear a French roll with the crimps in the front. "

" As black women, we're miles behind our white counterparts in being offered the space to create and craft female characters in major blockbuster films. "

" I try to be very particular about the roles I choose and what they say and put into the universe. I try to do my part. "

" I'm looking through old things of mine, and there was this binder from when I was 14 years old. It is essentially a dream board. It is a school binder that I had put magazine clippings on. It said, 'TV actress, fame, a picture of Halle Berry, a picture of Christina Aguilera.' I was obsessed with both of them. "

" When you just come into a show that's already established, you feel that they're family, and they have a way of doing things and running things. "

" Why aren't there films being made that tell ethnically diverse stories? Or why is it so impossible to allow a person of color to add their texture and their essence to a role that is not ethnically specific? I don't know why it's a novel or risky idea to consider making a film look like how our world actually looks today. "

" I really feel like the stars have aligned many ways, many times for me. I have been blessed to play some awesome roles and nuanced and meaningful characters. "

Teyonah Parris

Awesome

Feel

" In working with Nick Cannon, he's such a generous guy, a generous actor, and he was very protective. "

" When they asked, 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' I said, 'I want to be a model and an actress.' They said, 'Why?' I said, 'Because I can look good and get paid to do it.' That's the kind of kid I was. "

" It only takes one person to mobilize a community and inspire change. Even if you don't feel like you have it in you, it's in you. You have to believe in yourself. People will see your vision and passion and follow you. "

" I think, no matter who you are, at some point in your life you've probably said, 'OK, well, who am I, and where do I fit in?' "

" I've had the struggling actor experience. At one point in New York, I was holding four jobs, including bottle service girl, while I was trying to break into acting. "

" For me, it's always about the work and the stories I'm telling and the slices of life I feel should be illuminated. "

Teyonah Parris

Feel

Work

" My dad, bless his heart, always told me I was beautiful, so I was never self-conscious in that way. But when you look at the images on TV, you think you need to look like that in order to be sexy. "

Teyonah Parris

Heart

Sexy

" I was a wild child tomboy. "

" Whatever it is you do, study it, learn the ins and outs of it, and really work on building your craft. "

" You look at 'Survivor's Remorse.' Or 'Blackish.' Or Issa Rae's brilliant, funny 'Insecure,' which started out on YouTube but is now on HBO. And you see multifaceted representations of the African-American experience. It's insanely exciting. "

" I had been getting relaxers since I was eight or nine. I had no clue. It was a personal mission to really find out who am when I'm not altering myself to look like anybody else. Who am I when I wake up and I don't do anything to my hair? Who is that woman? I want to meet her. And that was what catapulted my journey into going natural. "

" When I'm filming, I keep my hair in cornrows so that they can fit a wig on top of my hair. "

" It's no coincidence that the cities with the highest rates of violence also have the highest rates of unemployment. There are not many opportunities. We have to address that, starting from the government down and the grassroots up. "

" I love period dramas. "

" I, for myself, have wanted to get more into producing because I want to be a part of the conversation and be one of the voices in the story we're trying to tell. "