Phylicia Rashad

“There was a time when I couldn't watch sitcoms for a while because it was just cacophony, it was just noise.”

“What's in front of you is a whole world of experiences beyond your imagination. Put yourself, and your growth and development, first.”

“As artists, we do the work that we do. Receiving an award or not receiving an award in no way diminishes one's talent or value.”

“Let me just say that to imagine racism does not exist is imagination. And to imagine that it does not create its own set of problems is true imagination. So let's not imagine that racism is gone, extinguished, because it's not. We are seeing this in the top levels of the political arena, and we are seeing it very, very plainly.”

“Without an educated populace, democracy cannot sustain itself.”

“What I love about being an actress is being able to really look into myself and understand another human being.”

“We are told there is not enough money for education, but somehow there is enough money for people to raise billions of dollars to defeat somebody in an election? Oh! Okay! Does that make sense?”

“Loving oneself isn't hard, when you understand who and what 'yourself' is. It has nothing to do with the shape of your face, the size of your eyes, the length of your hair or the quality of your clothes. It's so beyond all of those things and it's what gives life to everything about you. Your own self is such a treasure.”

“I love theater. To have the people onstage right there, to be working in concert with other artists, this is a like a school of fish moving together.”