I was a writer. I just wasn't a very good one. I was lucky enough to have a playwriting teacher who told me that I'd be a better actor than I would a playwright.

I was lucky that I met the right mentors and teachers at the right moment.

I wanted to be a teacher but I was a lousy student one of the slowest readers. It was a tremendous struggle. But I'm lucky I had some teachers who saw something in me.

I was born with success. Lucky for me I am able to handle it. Also I damn well deserve it!

When everything happens to you when you're so young you're very lucky but by the same token you're never going to have that same feeling again. The first time anything happens to you - your first love your first success - the second one is never the same.

The one thing that makes me feel super lucky about my financial success is that I have a housekeeper.

Am I coasting on some early success? Yeah. It was a good lucky break for me. But I would rather earn my way back again than simply conform to what people are expecting.

I feel lucky because I was a nerd which I talk about in the book but I had academic success so through that because that's what my parents put a great deal of value on I had a great childhood because I sort of fulfilled the expectations of being good at school.

I was lucky enough when it came to sports and work ethic to be taught some basics that continue to be important.

When I got out of acting school I was lucky to have gotten any job at all. A lot of people hiring African American actresses - it was right after 'Roots ' and for society not me it was great. Nice richly dark-skinned people was the fashion and I was not.