When they asked, 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' I said, 'I want to be a model and an actress.' They said, 'Why?' I said, 'Because I can look good and get paid to do it.'… — Teyonah Parris Copy Share Image
As black women, we're miles behind our white counterparts in being offered the space to create and craft female characters in major blockbuster films. — Teyonah Parris Copy Share Image
I had been getting relaxers since I was eight or nine. I had no clue. It was a personal mission to really find out… — Teyonah Parris Copy Share Image
As a girl, I remember looking up to pop singers, and they all had long, straight weaves and light skin. And I thought, 'That's… — Teyonah Parris Copy Share Image
When you have filmmakers like Justin Simien, writers, producers, actresses like Lena Waithe, who are people of color, they're creating their own content and… — Teyonah Parris Copy Share Image
I think, no matter who you are, at some point in your life you've probably said, 'OK, well, who am I, and where do… — Teyonah Parris Copy Share Image
It's important, as a young person of color, to see yourself reflected in the media. — Teyonah Parris Copy Share Image
I'm influenced by many things. Simply turning on the television, I feel inundated with images and messages to be a certain way. So I… — Teyonah Parris Copy Share Image
Whatever it is you do, study it, learn the ins and outs of it, and really work on building your craft. — Teyonah Parris Copy Share Image
I, for myself, have wanted to get more into producing because I want to be a part of the conversation and be one of… — Teyonah Parris Copy Share Image
In working with Nick Cannon, he's such a generous guy, a generous actor, and he was very protective. — Teyonah Parris Copy Share Image
You have to really understand and appreciate who are you are and know who you are and what you have to offer people -… — Teyonah Parris Copy Share Image
You have to be resilient to be a black person in America. The thing about being resilient is being able to fall apart and… — Teyonah Parris Copy Share Image
An actor hears 'no' more often than the average person. A black human and a black woman on top of that? That's a lot… — Teyonah Parris Copy Share Image
