Quotes from Mj Rodriguez

It all started when I was 11 months old, singing a song by Jodeci in the back seat of the car. My mother turned around and said, 'Who is that?' When she saw it was me, she said, 'I think we have a singer on our hands.'

There's so much you can say about the ballroom scene. But, simply, it's just a way of life. It's a place you can live out a fantasy you never lived before.

Every single day, I wake up and take a glimpse of where I am now compared to where I was before, and the work that we have all put in to be in this space. I think of that, and being able to express myself through my art and show up and be present - that's activism, advocacy, and artistry in itself.

It's a blessing that I have my family in my life and they were supportive, but there were times when I needed to find an outlet for me to understand my people and my own journey, and I found that through my chosen family, which was the ballroom community.

For a long time, with a lot of women of the trans experience on television, people have only got to see one aspect of their life. With 'Pose,' it's broadened the scale.

If I had seen 'Pose' in the years I was a kid, it would have probably meant everything to me.

Whenever I go onstage or in front of a camera, I always want to pour my soul out because I know I have a lot to offer.

A lot of people have forgotten the severity of this disease, of HIV. So I think it's important that we just talk about things like this: how we can prevent it, how we can make sure that people are safe, how they can move forward, too, if they do have HIV.

I started out in the ballroom scene when I was fourteen years old.

The one thing I thought I would never be able to do was sing on television.

'Paris Is Burning' was only just a glimpse into what was happening within the ballroom scene. The difference is that 'Pose' is opening the lens a little bit more, and it's diving into the personal lives of these women who fought for their kids - who raised their kids to be strong individuals so that they can move on and have a legacy, too.

Home is like my detox: it's what keeps me grounded.

Today I may advocate through my art, but I've won my share of 'hood fights.' So if I ever saw one of my sisters being beaten in the street, I'd be the first one to jump in.

When I was in high school, I was doing a fashion show, and my House Father would host fashion shows at the school. He was great at it. He saw me and said, 'That's my daughter.' The rest was history! We went to New York City to rehearse and go to balls, and I was in the ballroom scene until I was 17 years old.

I'm ready to get a Marvel role, honey.

When I started 'Rent,' I already had an idea of how I was going to portray Angel, simply because of who I was at that moment. Everyone always perceived her as a drag queen, but the reality of the matter is that I truly believe she was a trans woman.

I just want to instill love into everyone's hearts. I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true.

'Rent' was one of the main defining moments, and it was like the precipice of my transition.

Me, as a woman of the trans experience, I'm not able to have children biologically. And I have always been someone who was very, very... I wanted to have a traditional family, as a young kid. The wife and the kids and, you know... as I grew older, times changed, and my mindset changed.

I hear from a lot of young kids. One said to me, 'You remind me of my house mother that passed away,' and another said, 'You remind me of the mother that I didn't have.'... It's beautiful that I can instill that in people.

I do like to think of myself as a star: because there's room for many stars up in the sky - and we all have the chance to shine bright.

It feels completely amazing to finally be in the space where there are so many people taking me seriously as an actress.

It was me that was holding myself back because I felt like I had to fit into this mold of what people want to see.

My mom is my biggest cheerleader.