I read everything, but particularly, growing up in a household where my mom was black and my dad was white, I remember really loving 'Ebony' and 'Essence.' Those magazines were the only place where I could see images of women who looked like me or my mom.

If you feel that it diminishes your intelligence to be asked about your fashion choices for an evening on the red carpet, so be it.

There were times I was underestimated a lot. It gave me a unique benefit. The expectations were so low I could blow their head off.

I started out as the assistant to the editor-in-chief at 'Ebony' magazine. She took me under her wing and gave me opportunities to take on bigger responsibilities very early on in my career.