Jurnee Smollett Quotes

I'm going to give it my all, but I'm also going to know my worth, know that I have options, and that's the best feeling in the world.

I just feel like sometimes I'm a force to be dealt with. My talents are sometimes overused and also sometimes underused. It's not easy being me.

It's never been bad or ridiculous. I know who I am and what I've done, and I'm really comfortable with myself.

But I've never felt objectified. Nothing you see me do is an accident.

I'm tired of defending my character. I am what I am.

No, because I think I have a reason to believe in myself and I think I'm also pretty confident about who I am and what I'm doing and it might be because I'm still at the top too.

In real life, every person is the leading man or woman. We don't think of ourselves as supporting or character actors.

I do know one thing about me: I don't measure myself by others' expectations or let others define my worth.

Thankfully, I was given a strong base by my parents, an understanding of who I was and my strength.

I don't need anybody to tell me how to be alive.

There is a kind of elevation which does not depend on fortune; it is a certain air which distinguishes us, and seems to destine us for great things; it is a price which we imperceptibly set upon ourselves.

No matter what happens to you, you can maintain your own control about what you believe and who you are.

Having a strong sense of self is fundamental to you, no matter what you're doing. I don't care if you're a stay at home mom raising kids or if you're the CEO of a corporation. It's really important for your survival.

I'm kind of a self-aware and confident person.

I guess I don't really measure myself by what others think. So even though I have gotten to work with some amazing directors, and you might perceive me to be that girl, that isn't how I see myself. So if one day nobody wants to work with me, it won't be this massive surprise.

I was always - and I have no idea where it came from - a confident boy. And when I look at how I've lived my life that's how I've lived it.

I am confident about who I am as a person, my character, and as a human being.

You just have to be able to stand up for yourself. And that's OK.

I think it's very important that we instill in our kids that it has nothing to do with their name or their situation that they're growing up in; it has to do with who they are as an individual.

My mother always taught me, even my dad, just never let other people's opinions of you shape your opinion of yourself. And I never have and I never will.

I was at a point where I was ready to say I am what I am because of what I am and if you like me I'm grateful, and if you don't, what am I going to do about it?

I've never been a conceited person or cocky, never felt boastful, but I always had a sense of self-worth; I always had a real sense of myself.

The opinion which other people have of you is their problem, not yours.

I am proud of who I am, and nobody's going to steal that.

I don't see myself beneath Beyonce and Jay Z; I don't see myself above them. I'm in my own world, hungry to grow.