There are expectations in how you play your character as a black woman, to be sassy and the same kind of feel, as if there are no quirky black women. I struggle with those things constantly, trying to add dimension to my work, and that's the goal, too.

When I was younger, my father was in the Foreign Service and we lived in Nigeria, Panama, and London, but for the most part I grew up in the South and D.C. I got the travel bug as a little person and I've bounced around a lot.

I went to Juilliard in New York and used to do cabarets just for fun. Occasionally, I would get together with a jazz musician and play at a restaurant for cash. And I've done some background vocals for recording artists.

Everything about us black people is complicated, us being here, being a minority, being a woman, all those things are complicated.

The market is my church; it's my family.

I've tried to live my life in a way that respects the beliefs of my mother and father. Everyone has blessings, gifts, passion, and drive.

My approach has always been to work so that I can support my family.

I grew up with an incredibly loving and supportive family that gave me the impression there were a lot of options for me out there.