I'm a human being, and I get sick.

All the great artists had their dark sides. Look at Amy Winehouse or anyone who has achieved a certain level of success. Even Adele, and the people that you wouldn't put in the same category as a gangster rapper. These women have exposed their vulnerabilities, demons, and things that have hurt them.

On my days off, I love denim cut off shorts with gladiator sandals and crop tops.

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.

I love outdoor winter activities like snow tubing and snowball throwing.

I've always been involved with charities and things like that, but when I started communicating with the fans and hearing their stories about the lives they lead, it really made an impact on me.

In 10 years, I don't really know what I'll be, and I like not having any idea. I like the idea of being so passionate about everything I do and the fact that I might wake up tomorrow and say 'I want to be a chef,' and just pour myself into that.

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.

I'm not somebody who's emotionally attached to an outcome of a character that I'm hired to play. The fans are.

Before 'The Vampire Diaries,' I was making beats, which is how I got will.i.am's attention, and I went on tour with him.

I don't want to be alone at 80 years old, dripping in diamonds - having never helped anyone. That's not my path. That's not what I care about. That's not what excites me.

I'm an activist. I'm a proud activist. So I want to be someone who is pro-black and pro-Africa and still be somebody that has positive influence.

I think sometimes when you want attention, you can wear sunglasses, and people are like, 'Who is that?'

I don't feel like I necessarily juggle. I just feel like I'm focusing on being a singer/actor. That's what I am, and it's what I do.

Will Smith is one of my favorite actors, and he's also a triple threat. He successfully crossed over from music into acting. Also, I liked 'I Am Legend' because it was so unexpected. The movie wasn't what I thought it'd turn out to be.

I found my style and how I like to do makeup from trying and failing and trying and failing again, and unfortunately, I had to do it publicly to figure it out.

I completely took off my eyebrows one time for a screen test. I hadn't even gotten the role yet. So you have to have a commitment.

My first audition as a little girl was 'Interview with the Vampire' for Kirsten Dunst's part. Back then, they were meeting all different kinds of girls, and I was one of them. There's got to be an audition tape somewhere on VHS. Who would have known that many years later I would be on a vampire show?

I think a lot of young girls see actresses, and they think of red carpets, and they think of 'Us Weekly,' and they don't really think about the breaking down of a script and what that requires and what you would need to pull it off.

I think that with beauty, people jump to the end instead of starting from the beginning with a good lotion or prep.

I'm a smoky eye girl. I love playing with eye colors, metallics... fun stuff!

I run away from super-bandage-style Herve Leger dresses. I think it's sexier for a woman to be in something sheer and loose.

I think it's important to have your own individual style and sense of self. It's kind of what I do.

I learned about poise and dignity, and I learned about what it means to be an African-American in television and what that requires in terms of what kind of position you take for yourself and how you define your own reality in a world that is still finding its footing, to say the least.

I only write in blue ink.

I just want to live on the road. I can't understand artists that don't want to perform and, like, get on stage and do their songs for all their fans every night. If I'm not performing every night, I get totally depressed. I know that sounds really weird, but I hate sitting at home and not having a 1 A.M. performance now. It kills me.

Will Smith is one of my favorite actors, and he's also a triple threat. He successfully crossed over from music into acting.

I have more of a desire to write songs about being an independent woman than being in love, songs about getting up and moving on even if I have a broken heart.

MAC Cosmetics is incredible for lips; I always wear it.

If I was on Broadway, I would want to do anything Vaudeville or a biopic.

I like that the 'Underworld' series created a whole other world that's totally different yet familiar to our own.

People automatically assume that because you're an actor, you're a blank canvas 24/7. But I can't wear what everyone else wears. If I went to an audition, I'd wear what the character would wear, but the moment I'm done with the audition or done filming, I go back into my high-waisteds.

I feel like I can't be sick without some story being made up or some photos being sold a month later.

I've been doing acting since I was 6 years old, and I don't know how to do anything besides act and sing. Back in the day, you had to do it all - you had to sing, dance, and act. I'm from the old school where that is what I was trained to do, and that's what I am expected to do, so it's weird when people ask me to choose.

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.

I used to read the criticism on blogs about other people - mostly female actresses and singers - and even when they are extremely perfect and harmless, people still go after them. So I figure, if I'm going to get negativity regardless, why do I have to worry about what somebody thinks of me?

When you're an entertainer, it's hard not to compare yourself with the next person's success. But you have to trust your own journey and your strengths and believe in yourself. I think that's the best place to start.

Live performances always feel like such a moment with all of the costumes and theatrics.

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

I'm all about high-waisted pants and skirts, pencil skirts, and sheer, long-sleeves in the summer.

I had racially prejudiced comments directed at me on different blogs. People think that just because you're in the spotlight, you're fair game. It's hard, and I don't think you're ready at any age for it. Thankfully, I have some great fans who got me through it.

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

I just wanna be a good artist.

'Blade' was amazing; I can't imagine the character without Wesley Snipes. He just made a long, black leather trench coat look so cool.

It's important for me to just be myself - in fashion. A lot of people overlook that side of me because they're scared of it, but that's just who I am.

I hope to do multiple characters throughout my life that are separate from me. I think it's a cop-out if you play yourself in everything.

To me, success is making a positive difference through art - making art that affects the world and that changes the way people feel about themselves and the world.

'Roxbury Drive' was the street I grew up on as a little kid, and it was the street that I first listened to records on, and where I actually really first fell in love with music.

I'm really into kind of finding different masculine pieces and making them feminine. Like cool oxfords.

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.