Quotes from Renee Elise Goldsberry

I don't do lip balm. I believe hydration really comes from the inside out, so I try to drink a lot of water. I have children who are always asking for Vaseline on their lips, but I'm saying we need to drink more water.

The first few times I was asked to audition for the part of Angelica Schuyler in 'Hamilton,' I turned it down. I was convinced I was too over-the-hill to play a Nicki Minaj-type rapper. When I finally showed up, the role was waiting for me. But I almost missed it.

I don't wear fragrance. The most fragrant I smell is probably from a St. Ives Body Wash. It's not that I don't like it. I just don't necessarily feel like I need to add a fragrance to myself.

I'm aware of the fact that people that are watching to see what I do next - It's challenging to make the best decisions, and I don't always get it right.

I think you have to chase your life even harder than you chase your career.

I've always wanted a family. I've always wanted children. I've always wanted to be a superstar.

I find Shakespeare surprisingly sexual. A lot of his language - a lot - has that kind of sexual innuendo that is at once everywhere but also kinda lost because we have our own innuendo now, our own language.

I always felt like, 'I hope Oprah teaches a class to everybody when they get super famous about how to use, responsibly, that blessing.'

I'm trying to look natural and not painted. I'm typically fighting hair and makeup teams because I'm always saying, 'Can I wear less? Can I look natural and fresh?'

Economics really pervert every possible good thing that comes, whether it's food or a cure or a new technological advancement; anything like that is always stopped by who has access to it.

I've done acupuncture, and I believe in it. That's the first place I go if I'm having any particular pain anywhere.

I love the opportunity to tell stories that people should know. I think it puts what we do as actors on the level of nurses and doctors. It takes us out of this idea of entertainment into an act of service.

As a child, I loved to sing. When I was 8, my mother sent my brother and me to a summer music theater program in Texas. We did 'Guys and Dolls' at the camp, and I was so depressed when it was over. That's when I realized that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

I think the genre of musical theatre, when it started, the pop songwriters of the time were writing the music. I think sometimes when we write musicals now, we keep writing in that same style, as though that's the musical theatre genre... We have to figure out how to tell stories with the music that we listen to now, or we'll lose our audience.

It doesn't matter how late you get home or how wired you are, you still wake up early with your kids. That's the most important thing you do in a day, whether or not you're in a hit Broadway show.

My greatest wish for my children is that they fulfill their purpose. I know that all children - and, in particular, mine - are here for a reason.

My first experience with the arts must have been the sound of my mother singing to me when I was in the womb. The sound of my father singing to me when he held me. The sound of The Temptations records that they played.

I won my husband. I won my kids. I've won a lot of really great jobs. I've won a lot of friendships. I've been nominated for lots of different kinds of awards.

For the first time in my life, in my mid-20s, I started to question things. Had I been deceived? I thought I had been destined for something great - to be Whitney Houston or Jennifer Holliday or Phylicia Rashad. I started to realize that a lot of people think that, and it doesn't happen for almost everyone.

I was so involved in the regular joy of school that I didn't do any plays. On a dare, I auditioned for 'South Pacific' my junior year. I showed up at the last minute to the audition and ended up getting cast as the lead. I haven't turned back since then.

I had spinal surgery to correct scoliosis when I was 16 years old. The only thing that scared me about the procedure was that it would make me two inches taller. At the time, I had a crush on a boy who was about my height - and I was worried that if I were taller than him, it would never happen!

I used to say if there was anything I would really want to have as I kind of get older in my career, it would be wonderful to have relevance to somebody in some way so that I could continue to work on some level.

My job is not to get an award. My job is to illuminate people about something that they should know.

I'm still learning every night, with every opportunity to write something, to sing something, to perform any work. Every opportunity to do these things brings me further along the journey, and the best part is, no matter how far along I go, I have so much more to learn.