I'm the female Simon Cowell. He said I'm the scariest woman he's ever met. I asked him why he never dated me, and he said I was too intimidating.

People identify with me - everyone does - African American women, Caucasian women, they all identify with me because I'm ethnic.

The past explains how I got here, but the future is up to me - and I love to live life at full throttle.

Back in the day I was doing runway, editorial, advertising, spokesmodeling, and public appearances. Those are five different categories.

At least I know that one film-maker in my career has had the initiative to come to me and thought of me as being capable of doing interesting and complicated work, and so I have a new-found belief that other film-makers will see me in a different way, the way that Patty did.

Business is not a science; it is not susceptible to experiments that can be controlled and replicated. Everything in business is too unpredictable for that - every business, employee, product, market is different and keeps changing.

The more you work in this business as a comedian, the closer you get to just being yourself onstage, on camera, the more well received you are.

I've got my own businesses I run every day and I like to think I'm a nurturer rather than a firer, but the reality is, if somebody continues not to succeed and do the right thing for the business they lose the job because they are affecting the livelihoods of others.