Let me learn now where Beauty is; I was born to know her mysteries . . .

I proudly love being a Negro woman -- it's so involved and interesting.

It is dangerous for a woman to defy the gods; To taunt them with the tongue's thin tip, Or strut in the weakness of mere humanity, Or draw a line daring them to cross.

Is any prophet come to teach a new thing Now in a more apt time?

Heaven's Virginia when the year's at its Spring.

Guilt pins a fig-leaf; Innocence is its own adorning.

Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard.

In Brazil, if you have a son, the first thing you give him is a football. That's the first gift - so my dad was no different.

There is still plenty of good music to be written in C major.

In cooking, as in all the arts, simplicity is the sign of perfection.

You don’t feel as real if you don’t see yourself reflected in the media […] There’s something very powerful about seeing yourself represented.

Cycling is suffering.

I don't do so well with people pretending to be happy. When I was 16, I went with my girlfriend at the time and her family to Disneyland and I was so grumpy the whole time.

. . . my bones they'll burn or bury. It'll be my death.

The best part of writing is thinking about the story. And then everything else takes a lot of discipline.

If you were shopping for a father, you'd have to take out a serious loan to afford mine. He's the best.

When you think about people, you give them power.