Kat Graham

“I don't have the kind of style that I feel like would serve any and everyone.”

“I think that with 'The Vampire Diaries,' you never know what's going to happen, and I don't think the characters necessarily know, either. So you can only weigh so much, and then it might just come down to 'kill or be killed.'”

“I was raised in Hollywood by my mother.”

“Make your life about you, and once you build up yourself first, then you can focus on boys.”

“I learned that it's OK to be stubborn about your craft, and it's OK to demand excellence from the industry.”

“When people are like, 'What do you think of this vampire craze?' - well, I don't really feel like it ever ended, personally, 'cause I've always been into them, like 'Underworld.'”

“Water for People is a non-profit international organization that brings together communities, entrepreneurs, governments - people - to create solutions that empower people to maintain their own reliable water systems and sanitation.”

“Anyone who knows me knows what I'm about - how much I'm into empowerment, equal rights and everyone just loving themselves.”

“I think Sephora is great; it's so accessible, and there are so many different palettes that you can get.”

“Even if you throw your hair up in a quick topknot or ponytail, you can add instant polish by wearing a headband or bejeweled barrette.”

“The hardest thing as somebody who does both is - and I'm very serious as an actor, and I consider myself very serious as a musician, engineer, music artist - is learning that it's OK to be versatile.”

“I'm somebody who listens to a lot of funk, a lot of James Brown, and I want to be somebody who contributes all that energy to the mainstream.”

“When people start to think they're figuring out 'The Vampire Diaries,' it switches on you.”

“I just wanna be a good artist.”

“I love sparkly eyes for the holidays, especially New Year's Eve.”

“You have to be very careful with the art you create and you put out.”

“I'd rather be hated for who I am than loved who I am not. Even if you're not accepted, at least you are still yourself.”

“Tupac has always been somebody who represented a higher consciousness of what it means on both sides of the coin to be black in America. He and Prince were leaders who moved to the beat of their own drum, and I can only hope to follow in their footsteps.”

“I love anything that makes you feel empowered. I'm 'bout that - you can't be scared.”

“There was a time when men thought it was sexy to have a housewife waiting for him to come home from work in her slippers, but in modern society, I think an independent woman is even more sexy.”