When people talk about the great quarterbacks, it's almost exclusively the guys who have won Super Bowls. There have been some very good ones who hardly get mentioned because they never won the big one. I don't know if that's fair, but that's the way it is.
Until the '90s, major labels were looking for a certain look. This Sony guy told me I was 'too black, too fat, too short, and too old.' Told me to go and bleach my skin. Told me to step in the background and just stay back. I had the voice, but I didn't have the looks.
I've never been discriminated against, but I have witnessed discrimination. I was talking to a director and asked why one of my friends didn't get a particular part, and he specifically told me it was because she just had a baby and it was hard to see her as sexy.
When I first came along in the business, they didn't really like the idea of my name being Raquel.
You don't get to be in the squad unless you're six feet tall, a supermodel, perfect, famous, and hot. That's like hand selecting perfection, putting it into a group of girls, and saying, 'Look how amazing we are.'
I had a very narrow-minded view on what was pretty and what wasn't. I automatically thought that tanned was attractive.
I've auditioned so many times and been told I'm 'not sporty enough' or I'm 'not sexy.'
'The New York Times' list is a bunch of crap. They ought to call it the editor's choice. It sure isn't based on sales.
