I, for myself, have wanted to get more into producing because I want to be a part of the conversation and be one of the voices in the story we're trying to tell.

Teyonah Parris

Categorized in : Myself Story Trying Conversation

I had been getting relaxers since I was eight or nine. I had no clue. It was a personal mission to really find out who am when I'm not altering myself to look like anybody else. Who am I when I wake up and I don't do anything to my hair? Who is that woman? I want to meet her. And that was what catapulted my journey into going natural.

woman myself look journey

I want to continue to strive towards deepening my relationship with God and finding peace in whatever trials or circumstances I may be given.

god want relationship peace

When you get older, you start to doubt, and you put limitations on yourself. But little Teyonah had no fear.

yourself start you fear

It only takes one person to mobilize a community and inspire change. Even if you don't feel like you have it in you, it's in you. You have to believe in yourself. People will see your vision and passion and follow you.

believe-in-yourself passion change

I think, no matter who you are, at some point in your life you've probably said, 'OK, well, who am I, and where do I fit in?'

think you matter life

I'm looking through old things of mine, and there was this binder from when I was 14 years old. It is essentially a dream board. It is a school binder that I had put magazine clippings on. It said, 'TV actress, fame, a picture of Halle Berry, a picture of Christina Aguilera.' I was obsessed with both of them.

picture looking dream school

It feels good to be a role model for little girls who don't often see natural hair on the red carpet.

little-girls good red hair

I've wanted to be an actress my whole life, and the - none of the women I aspired to be like had natural hair.

like women hair life

I got my first relaxer when I was nine years old. This was in the '90s, and I convinced my mom to let me perm my hair so I could wear a French roll with the crimps in the front.

wear me mom hair

I was a wild child tomboy.

tomboy wild child

When you just come into a show that's already established, you feel that they're family, and they have a way of doing things and running things.

feel you family way

When I look at material, I get excited by things that are telling the truth because that's what you want to do: tell somebody else's truth.

look you truth want

When I looked at 'Dear White People,' you have four African-American students who are all very different and who are trying to figure out who they are. They're dealing with identity issues and crises. That is exciting to me, to see African-American young people on a page, on a screen, who are so diverse and whose stories are all so different.

me you identity people

When I'm filming, I keep my hair in cornrows so that they can fit a wig on top of my hair.

wig keep top hair

I try to be very particular about the roles I choose and what they say and put into the universe. I try to do my part.

they-say choose try universe

When you get into this industry and the restrictions placed on women, first, and then on women on color, next? Yeah, this business comes with its challenges. But I do not shy away from those challenges.

you women business challenges

Ever since I was maybe nine or 10 years old, I'd say, 'I'm gonna be an actor, and I'm gonna go to Julliard, and I'm gonna be in movies.' My parents never said, 'What's your backup plan?'

your movies parents never

I always want to tell the truth. It doesn't have to be a pretty truth, and it doesn't have to be a life-changing and life-threatening truth like 'Chi-Raq.' But I want to tell someone's truth in an effort to inspire people to see themselves reflected on the screen.

someone effort truth people

Every time I get a role, or the opportunity to explore a role, I look at it, and I think, 'What is the story we're trying to tell here?'

look think opportunity time

When you have filmmakers like Justin Simien, writers, producers, actresses like Lena Waithe, who are people of color, they're creating their own content and saying, 'You know what? We're not going to wait on someone else to tell our story. We're going to do it ourselves. You can be a part of it or not.'

wait you color people