A woman who doesn’t apologize for her very existence on Earth is rare, and that’s what I wanted for myself.

My beauty doesn’t come from a mirror. Never has and never will.

Feelings aren’t an absence of strength. I know this for sure. So why should I pretend to have a sense of humor just to allow someone else to take a shot at me?

Perhaps I had to change my idea of what an insult sounds like.

It seems as though if I cured cancer and won a Nobel Prize someone would say, “Sure, cancer sucks and I’m glad there’s a cure, but her body is just disgusting. She needs to spend less time in the science lab and more time in the gym!

Money changes people. It changed the way my family saw me. It changed how they interacted with me. Perhaps more than it changed them, it changed how I saw them as well.

I refuse to be anyone’s survivor because I prefer to think of myself as a winner.

I just assumed that at the time if I could display a talent worthy of praise. . . that I wasn’t just who you thought I was, I thought I wouldn’t be fat anymore. That may seem silly, I know that now. But at the time, I thought that if I could just get the world to see me the way I saw myself, that my body wouldn’t be the thing you walked away thinking about. I wouldn’t be that fat girl, I wouldn’t be that dark skinned girl. I’d be Gabby I’d be human

I can’t go to sleep unless I’ve watched at least two episodes of American Dad on Hulu or iTunes. It just feels familiar. It’s like a lullaby.

One of my personal plights in this business is about playing ‘The Sassy Black Girl.’

Well, I’m certainly glad that I was nominated for an Oscar. There is certainly a respect that comes with that nod. Also, a compliment that comes with it, too. Not that I really know what I’m doing. In a lot of ways I feel like some child on set, or like a kid that snuck in the back door.

I show up because I’m an asshole, and I want to have a good time.

I’m really, really happy with what I do for a living. I mean, that’s what I consider work, like being on set, bringing a character to life and, you know, working with other actors and directors and stuff.

People want to know everyone for a lot of different reasons. It doesn’t have to be anything as big as an Oscar nomination. It could be a brand new job. People see their opportunity. And, when you’re winning, everyone loves a winner.

My goal was just to live a good life that I was happy with. And I wasn’t exactly sure that that meant being the star of a movie.

I have a birthmark on the inside of my left knee that resembles an upside-down sea horse.

Plenty of times, I haven’t been able to wear certain clothes because they didn’t come in my size.

Being an actress wasn’t a plan at all, so what’s happened to me is very strange.
Life isn’t very normal, even though I’m still very much a normal girl. I ride the subway, I ride the bus, and all of that.

I like when red carpets are over. I hate red carpets in general. I don’t understand them.

If you’re writing on your own, each character is just you. It’s just you.

In the seventh grade, I was about to leave wearing a jumper, when my mom said she could see my panty line. So I just wore stockings. That day I broke my ankle, and the EMS cut my tights off. I got a full cast with no stockings on and no panties.

Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable and open up about your struggles. It can inspire others and help them feel less alone.

Create your own definition of beauty. It’s not limited to societal standards.

Failure is a stepping stone towards success. Learn from your mistakes and keep pushing forward.

Love yourself fiercely and unapologetically, because you are worthy of all the love and happiness in the world.

Believe in miracles and the power of positivity. Sometimes, the universe has surprises in store for us.

When it’s time to film and to actually take on the role of Precious, I felt an immense responsibility to do it justice.

I could have easily never worked again after ‘Precious.’ I could be back at my receptionist job and no one would be surprised, but I’m having a very crazy little career that no one thought would happen. Although that was never the plan.

Being an actor is wonderful and it’s a lot of fun, but eventually you look old and you can’t fit this or that. It’s important to have other skills, be able to do other things, and to really learn how this business works and what it thrives on.

Most of my life, I wanted to be a therapist, but then I just decided that I didn’t want to be in charge of giving people advice. I want to know everything there is to know about psychology. But a therapist? No.

The best thing about having my very first audition lead me to an Oscar nomination means that I don’t have to struggle the rest of my career to be nominated for an Oscar, to prove that I’m a great actress, because I’ve already done it. Now I can do things that just make me happy.

Things can sometimes work out if you’re smart, but my greatest virtue is patience.

I’m very organized in my pettiness, and I like to plan ahead.

How many psychics does it take to convince a sad little girl that she can be much more than the world is telling her she is? None. She’s got to be able to convince herself to show up for her own life.

Feelings aren’t an absence of strength.

Like I’m going to go from shooting a movie back to pretending to slap myself in the face while some guy pretends he’s ejaculating on double D tits. I’m officially too fancy for that.

Mom raised us more like cactuses, rather than orchids.

I’ve learned that no matter what I wear, somebody will hate it.

So I decided that I just dress for me. I wear colors that I like, I wear prints that I like and I wear lengths that I like.

There’s more of us with more style and more gumption

I cannot look at the two of them and decide that I am not beautiful.

There has been a huge movement in the plus-size arena.

All my family is dark-skinned. And we’re all kind of bigger people. And I think that my mom is beautiful, and I think that my dad’s skin color is beautiful.

I would like to continue acting. I tell people I can’t go back to real life. I have to see how far I can go with it. I am serious about it, and I believe that it’s my calling. I think it’s what my life’s path is. It’s what God has given me. It’s what I was born to do. And so I must do it.

Just relax. When I was younger, I made myself the victim of catastrophic thinking. Anything that went wrong was the end of the world. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to stop myself and say, ‘Hey babe, calm down. Tomorrow there will be sun.’

I hate Twitter. I think it’s disgusting. It’s ridiculous that you as a stranger can type something to me, and I see it. Technology has gone too far…

Hollywood, that whole industry, is a lot like a really small town. You bump into the same people all the time. I think Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon can be played with anyone and everyone in Hollywood.

I’m not a big fan of doing what my mother wants me to do, like any daughter.

I hate yoga so much. Like, if yoga was a person, I’d stab them.

Mo’Nique is so full of love. I’ve been describing her as the tree in ‘Pocahontas.’ She’s so wise and loving. She is just everything.

I used to watch ‘Coming to America’ every day after school. I have full-on long-running inside jokes with friends and family about different scenes in that movie alone. Also, my brother and I loved ‘The Golden Child,’ so, yeah: I was a huge fan of Eddie Murphy growing up.

It’s like prom night for Hollywood. I’m really proud of myself for being here.

I can flip my tongue over. Only one in 10,000 people can. I learned that at Ripley’s Believe It or Not!

Precious, she gets hit by life so many different ways and so many times, but she doesn’t yield to it. She continues to get up and she continues to struggle for a better life.

One of my favorite – well, my favorite, favorite, absolute favorite event to go to is Alfre Woodard has a party that I call the blacktress party. It’s, like, black actresses that either have been nominated for an Oscar or should have been, and it sort of is just a night where we all get in a room and we get to celebrate each other.

It’s so weird to turn on a switch and be the role model for all women, for all African-Americans. That doesn’t happen that easily. It just doesn’t. And so I don’t act up in public and I don’t do anything weird – because my sisters are watching me, not because the world is watching me.

I have a nice smile, pretty lips, and big round cheeks. They help me look like a teenager.

Full disclosure, I don’t know dick about dating.

I usually spend my Friday nights out with my friends. Or I spend them at home writing. Most important, I spend my Friday nights doing whatever I want to do. I know that if I had a boyfriend, or, even worse, a husband, I’d spend my Friday nights compromising. I don’t think I really want to do that yet.

I didn’t want to be an actress at all, or famous even. I certainly enjoy acting now, absolutely. Time will tell whether or not I enjoy fame.

I’m really, really interested in the job of acting. I can really care less about being famous. I’m more about the work, and ‘The Big C’ was amazing, so I wanted to be a part of it.

Acting is acting, and who you are will still remain to be who you are. You know, that part won’t change it. It will change your wallet, you know? It’ll change your life. It will open opportunities for you, but it’s not going to change your character.

I don’t know any teenager with a positive attitude.

If I hadn’t been told I was garbage, I wouldn’t have learned how to show people I’m talented. And if everyone had always laughed at my jokes, I wouldn’t have figured out how to be so funny. If they hadn’t told me I was ugly, I never would have searched for my beauty. And if they hadn’t tried to break me down, I wouldn’t know that I’m unbreakable.

I don’t fixate on other people’s opinions of my body.

I can’t quite say that I was raised Muslim, but I remember up until 5 or so I would pray, you know, with my dad. And it’s actually a beautiful practice. It’s giving of yourself to a higher power – no matter what you call that higher power. Living your life as close to what you think that higher power wants you to be is a really powerful thing.

I don’t think my brand of self-confidence and self-assuredness can come from an outside source. It’s got to come from me.

Don’t let anyone define your worth; you are the only one who can determine that.

Embrace your uniqueness and stay true to yourself, because you are enough just as you are.

Sometimes, the only way to achieve your dreams is to defy the expectations others have of you.

The key to success is perseverance and never giving up on yourself.

In a world that tries to reduce you to just one thing, remember you are a multifaceted individual capable of so much.

I think people look at me and don’t expect much. Even though, I expect a whole lot.

I certainly used to wish that I was skinny, lighter-skinned, with long, pretty hair. But only because I used to get made fun of for being the absolute opposite. I didn’t see all of that stuff as the American Dream. I just wanted to look normal. Now that I’m older, I really do feel like I am a beautiful girl.

I learned to love myself, because I sleep with myself every night and I wake up with myself every morning, and if I don’t like myself, there’s no reason to even live the life.

I was born to stand out. I don’t care whether or not people will find me attractive on screen. That’s not why I became an actor. I know that more and more with each new role.

One day I had to sit down with myself and decide that I loved myself no matter what my body looked like and what other people thought about my body. I got tired of hating myself.

Personally, it’s rude. You got three kids with the lady, she just did 17 years for you and you’re not gonna leave your…whatever!

It doesn’t have anything to do with how the world perceives you. What matters is what you see.

If they hadn’t tried to break me down, I wouldn’t know that I’m unbreakable.

My beauty is dark chocolate and it’s delicious and it’s sweet.

I am the only consistent person in my life and so I better like myself, and I better love myself. And I really better know that I’m as beautiful as anyone else.

I wanted to be a psychologist. You know, I thought that’s what I’d be doing and it just goes to show you that, if you tell God your plans, He will laugh in your face.

Your body is your temple, it’s your home, and you must decorate it.

One day I decided that I was beautiful, and so I carried out my life as if I was a beautiful girl.

I live my life because I dare. I dare to show up when everyone else might hide their faces and hide their bodies in shame.

Your baby is the worst and you know it.

But fame isn’t what gets me out of bed in the morning. It’s purpose.

Either way, no one has paid me back. Ever. No one was even nicer to me after spending my money.

The family knows how much money you have. We know you have two million dollars. Google said so.