I’m a mash-up of everyone. My influences would be Michael Jackson, Brandy, Aaliyah – those types of people. So if you can imagine them – and with me taking them, and then putting my own...

Follow your heart’s truth with no need for personal gain other than the feeling produced when doing what you truly love.

I sometimes want to do totally different roles. I don’t always want to play ‘wholesome.’

I’m happy with who I am inside. I’d hate to have accolades and all that and not really be happy with who I was. So I’m really thankful for my family and for the support...

I love singing and I love performing and just making things perfect.

I’m a workaholic, so I ignore the signs of fatigue and just keep going and going, and then conk out when I get home. It can be pretty stressful.

I’ve been able to stay good because of my family and keeping God first. If you don’t have God in your life, how are you going to navigate through this world?

I always try to set a positive example for my generation and promote confidence.

Singing was my first passion. Whenever I sing, I’m always so happy.

Real faith is when you believe in something that you can’t see. When things are going really bad and you can still get up and say I believe that they’re gonna get better, that there’s...

There’s not always going to be something out there for you, especially not a positive role, so once you get up there and start being well known, you can’t just think projects will come to...

Giving back, doing motivational speeches and stuff like that, that’s always made me feel good. If you repeatedly go out there, and you are the change that you want to see, then that’s what you...

The music industry is something that I’m still trying to understand. With acting, I’ve been doing it for so long that I understand every aspect of it for the most part – there are obviously...

You should never look at somebody and say, ‘I wish I had their life,’ because you never really know what struggles they’re going through.

Urban Outfitters – I love it. It’s almost like Forever 21, but for, like, the to 25-year-old girl, getting a little bit older.

When I was a kid, people people would always say, ‘Oh you look like Chilli from TLC.’ It wasn’t until I did ‘Akeelah and the Bee’ that people started saying I looked like Angela Bassett,...

Actually, Keke is my nickname. When I was little, my sister was about four years old, and she had an imaginary friend named Keke. And she wanted my name to be Keke.

When I was, like, 5 years old, I used to pray to have light skin because I would always hear how pretty that little light skin girl was, or I would hear I was pretty...

I definitely want to play someone who’s inspired me. I would love to play Aaliyah; it would be personal because I love her so much.

Working with Ice Cube was so tight. He’s cool, and I really like how he does family stuff. My guy friends couldn’t believe I was chillin’ with him. Dudes love Ice Cube.

When people think of me initially, they remember me as ‘Akeelah.’ Sometimes it can be frustrating to be remembered at an age that you’ve outgrown.

My parents are my role models. All they’ve done for me, they’re just major people in my life. They’ve stood by me and got me where I am today.

Anything that controls my state of mind I never really want to do because I always want to be under control. That might be part of me being a Virgo. I never want to do...

I don’t wish for anything. Wishing for a million dollars feels greedy. I just wish for the best for me.

I work out. I’m getting toned, too. The Wii Fit really works your body. When I get off, I’m dying.

If you focus more on the inside, you’ll feel just as great about the outside. I feel attractive when I’m doing good and helping people.

Even though I’m in the industry and I act and all this stuff, I still suffer from self-esteem issues… from the way that I look or the way that I talk… just nitpicking at myself.

I think you can do anything you put your mind to. I think your mind is the worst thing you can use as a reason to not do something.

Anytime you see Beyonce, Jay Z, Kanye West. Anytime a young black person’s doing good, that’s motivation for everybody else. Anytime, anytime, it’s motivation. Use that fuel to push you forward. That’s what I did.

I feel like you have to tell people who you are, but you don’t have to be disrespectful about it. But you also don’t have to be a shrinking violet.

I’m not a huge musical fan. It’s like when people just jump out singing; it’s not real.

Not being happy really is my fear.

I really look up to Will Smith. He’s internationally known, and people know him from everything. I don’t know any kid who hasn’t seen and liked Fresh Prince, or you’ll like one of his movies...

Just as many people that love me, hate me, too. I get really mean, mean, mean, mean comments on Twitter, and it just comes with the territory.

As you age, you start to realize that your emotions are in your hands and not someone else’s. Once you put them in someone else’s hands, that’s when you give them the power, and you...

Don’t depend on a guy for your happiness. You have to live your own life and do your own thing. That’s when good things come around – when you do your own thing and you’re...

Whether it be in acting, music, or even in dancing, I only want to do things that I truly connect to, and with my music, it’s everything that I am.

We need to stop separating ourselves by how dark or how light we are.

I have a few celebrity friends, but I’m really not into the whole Hollywood scene. I like to separate myself from my work. It stresses me out if I do too much of the same.

My father’s a deacon, my mother’s a choir director, so I grew up in the church and singing in the choir, begging my mom if I could have a solo.

I can’t work all day and then go home and hang out with the same people. I don’t want everything to revolve around the entertainment business. Yes, that’s my career, but it’s not my life.

Whatever my situation is, I want to show that I’m not perfect, and perfect isn’t real. The youth need to know that, especially.

I don’t curl my hair. In fact, I don’t know how to.

Comedians like to see people smile. With acting, I love giving people a feeling, an emotion. I like to give people a feeling. When they come away from my scene, I want them to think.

I’m totally normal. I love watching movies and hanging out with my friends at my house. I still go to the mall; I love to text and go on my computer. I’m totally normal –...

Some of my favorite style icons are Kate Moss and Rihanna, except I’m a little bit younger. I put a little bit more teenage into it.

I love clothes! I shop everywhere, but I like Urban Outfitters, Forever 21, Nordstrom, and Neiman Marcus. It’s a wide range. I’m from California, and I love the Pasadena Flea Market.

I can dance. I like hip hop and stuff and jazz movements, but I’m horrible in ballet. I tried.

I love being in the studio. Expressing myself that way is really cool.

People that want to be in the tabloids will get into the tabloids. I just stay home and don’t go out much. My personality is not an introvert, but that’s how I am as far...