I'm trying to be what I want to see more of: Black women onscreen.

It's amazing to me how quickly the industry will try to put you into a box. It's like, I did 'Beale Street.' And they decided now, all of a sudden, 'Oh, okay. KiKi Layne does those little quiet indie dramas.' I'm like, 'No! That's just where I got started.'

Most Sagittariuses start off really reserved. You gotta check people out, see what they're about, and then once we decide you're cool, then that's when we become super fun and really outgoing. But first we gotta make sure everybody's cool.

I think I learned the value of being more patient with myself.

Love & Basketball' has stuck with me since I first saw it.

I used to climb trees and ride my bike way too fast downhill.

It's just always been in my heart to perform.

My mom knew we were going to call me Kiki by birth. I think she had the nickname before she had my name, and she then found the name that would allow that.

Well, I used to model back in high school, and I was one of those people that, every week I was tuning in to 'America's Next Top Model.'

I just think the way Regina King carries herself in this industry is something to strive for. Even though she's been in the business as long as she has, she's still just one of the most genuine, realest people I've met so far. And so watching her, I realize that I don't have to change who I am at the core in order to have a career.

It means so much to be a part of bringing James Baldwin's words to life.

I want to have the kind of career in which I'm accomplished and respected enough that I'm able to open doors for other people, especially those who look like me. That's what happiness and success could look like for me.

I'm just hoping that, as more black artists take control of the narratives that are out there, more opportunities will come around for artists of colour. We want to make the same waves that the white artists do.

The only thing I'm sure of is that I want to keep doing work that speaks to me.

I'm very grateful to Barry Jenkins, who took a chance on me.

I'm very thankful I went to college, because I've seen the difference that it makes for me in the professional world. After graduation, I was building a name for myself in the Chicago theater scene, but there was always this pull to L.A.

I know for me personally, I'm a person that tends to pull back from the people that love me when I'm going through something.

The Kate Spade woman is a classy sort of working woman who's still stylish.

I always say, food is the way to get KiKi Layne wherever you want her to go. As long as I'm not cooking.

I love big jewelry trends and moments, especially some gold hoops.

I'm a huge fan of 'The Avengers,' but 'Black Panther' was so special to me.

I'm hopeful that, at the end of my career, wherever it takes me, there's a lot of variety.

It's important for me to not just do the same type of roles and movies that I've seen actresses that look like me do.

I never weigh myself.

There was never a moment when I thought I'd be a dentist, I've always wanted to perform.

Making films is such a large, collaborative effort and there's so many people who are a part of it.

Instead of asking for permission, we're seeing more artists and creatives taking control over the stories we tell.

I think a lot of times for women, especially in this industry, we're forced to do things for beauty that aren't good for what we already have.

I will never forget my first Valentino Haute Couture show.

All of us can relate to when something happens in your life and it just completely changes it. Now you have to figure out how you're going to move forward.

I want a career filled with a lot of variety.

We're seeing more black women saying: 'This is who I am; this is what I've been given.' And it's beautiful.

I'm committed to jumping into roles, worlds, and stories that historically actors who look like me have been left out of.

For whatever reason, Hollywood has had a very limited view of what life is and what certain people in certain roles, what they look like.

When you're a Black actress, the box that we often get put in is so small. And me being a dark-skinned Black actress, the opportunities become so limited in a way that is just wrong. It's not fair. I'm so capable of playing a wide variety of roles. It comes down to whether or not I'm given the opportunity to do it.

We all live in different worlds and situations, so what's the issue with representing that on screen?

The history of black people in America, it's so painful. But throughout all that history there has still been the ability of our community to find love and laughter and joy even in these very painful circumstances. That's why I think in particular black love is so powerful, because it's constantly under attack.

My mom put me into a performing arts elementary school back in Cincinnati, so I started studying acting in school when I was seven.

The black community is under attack in so many different ways.

I'm definitely a person, even when I need help, I got to be going through it to finally ask for help.

If you see black people being portrayed in this one way well then, when you see a black person in real life, you're going to carry some of that way of thinking with you.

As much as I love to slay a red carpet hitting the ground running with 'Beale Street' and 'Native Son,' representing two such important voices in James Baldwin and Richard Wright let people know that I'm an artist and I really have something to say with this gift.

It would be tough to live a life without any of the people you loved, where you can't even build new relationships. That connectivity is so important as humans. I wouldn't want to live like that.

Who do I have a cinematic crush on? I mean, it's such a go-to: Michael B. Jordan. I was like, it's everybody's go-to. Who else?

It's the first way I feel we can really express ourselves. There's always a story you can tell with fashion.

It's important for me to not be put into any type of box because that steals the fun of acting. I want to do everything.

I always have to find things that I relate to and understand in the characters that I play; otherwise, it won't feel that authentic.

I think with the 'Fresh Prince,' there were all of these really interesting personalities and characters, and yet there's so much love in that household.

I'm not one of those people that's like, 'I'm about to serve on this Whitney Houston song at like 2 A.M.' No. Karaoke? I'm just like, 'Live your best life.' We're not worried about those notes, we just living.

To see a young black woman being loved for just who she is - her hair, her skin, her clothes - is powerful.