Quotes About Self-discovery

I think I am more liberated as an artiste in my late 40s.

I think that New York liberated me in the sense that I moved here when I was 18, so it was a fresh perspective on life. I had been living in L.A. my whole life and I had never lived anywhere else, so being away from family and really making a name for myself was huge for me.

I learned with 'Birdman' that it's liberating when you just lose yourself and go after something that terrifies you.

After 40, women forget they are women. There's a certain liberation and we get to know ourselves.

I'm not a library.

Growing up black, you are lied to and told to act in a way that isn't who you are.

When I read books, my life changes.

I am who I am: I have my life experiences and my professional experiences.

I love being an entertainer. It's almost been a lifelong journey to find out what I wanted to do.

All I needed was the courage to be me. That courage took a lifetime to develop.

I have to know my limits.

I have literally played the most interesting parts since I turned 40.

Each person has a literature inside them.

Film is our literature, so we should tell stories that are apropos of our culture, in that we can learn something about ourselves.

As a little kid, I'd put on shows for my family. I would sing songs and play piano. I thought while growing up in high school that I would stick with music and try to make a career out of that. As I gave it an honest, real shot, I realized it was not for me.

I was born a girl; it just took me a little while to become one fully.

I've locked myself in my room and wanted to be on my own a lot in my career, but I don't do that anymore.

I write a lot when I'm feeling bummed, but other times, you get locked in, and it's totally personal. If you're really low and writing, you're not thinking about anybody at all.

I'm learning to deal with my loneliness because then nobody can muck me around any more.

Being an actor can be a lonely life.

It feels nice after a long career as an actor to find your own voice and support that.

Sometimes you need to take a moment and take a step back to think about what you are fighting for and if it make sense for your long-term happiness.

Well, I always looked at Mulan as a movie about a lesbian coming out.

I do feel that I myself wouldn't have had, in my life looking back, the courage to go out and say, 'I'm a good actress.' So I think I'm one of those people that needed to be seen by someone else to see myself.