I feel truly blessed to be one of the many black women who are leading ladies on television.

My whole life has been about working and being in the girl group and being on stage and being an actress, but now I get to really enjoy a bigger purpose, which is motherhood, so I'm really excited.

For my first role, I had to audition five times. I've gotten a lot of no's and rejections. But I just had to keep working hard. I took classes; I worked on my craft and continued to work with an acting coach and just didn't give up on myself.

I love Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, and The Supremes, because I'm kind of old-school at heart.

I was a cheerleader in high school, but I love to play basketball.

Professionally, I want to be remembered for how hard I worked and how I put my heart and soul into my work. Personally, I want people to remember my heart.

Singers have a lot in common with actors because you have to dig deep into a song and show the audience what you are feeling as you sing.

When I was coming up, we didn't have the movement of Black Girl Magic or Black Girls Rock, but my parents made it their business to make sure I saw positive images of myself and celebrated images of black women.

I want to give my daughter that Caribbean influence. But also, just being a black girl in this country, I want her to grow up with culture and confidence, and with love.

When I booked 'Hairspray,' I really didn't have a support system other than my family and friends.