Nia Vardalos Quotes

I loved her music and the fact that she was a classically trained pianist and that her voice was so unique, but what made Nina Simone my hero is that I had never seen anyone in the public eye who looked anything like me at all, ever.

I started watching so many different types of women, saw all the complexities of them, all the ways and the look and shapes they could be, and I felt it was missing for me in American film. I didn't see anybody I was watching in movies that felt like me. I felt rather tortured and lonely about it.

For me, like, obviously, I want to see myself onscreen.

To hang out in a gay bar or put on a sequined halter top makes me feel like a total person.

I hope that every film I make has something to offer in the area of making people feel either vindicated or different in terms of who they are.

For those of you who are underrepresented in technology, know that you've always been here. Look in photos and see yourself reflecting back.

It's about how you exist as a person in the world, and the idea that your work is more important than you as a person is a horrible, horrible message. I always think about a little gay boy in Wisconsin or a little lesbian in Arkansas seeing someone like me, and if I cannot be open in my life, how on earth can they?

I can't feel bad about being who I am, just like the girl next to me can't feel bad about being who she is. Because a rose can never be a sunflower, and a sunflower can never be a rose.

If I don't get a TV show next year because someone looks up my Wikipedia and it says 'openly gay,' then it's worth the risk because I've had so many years being openly gay and proud of myself as a role model.

I love the mixture that's in me. It makes me me. And that's why it's such a shame that people waste energy in denying who they are.

I know one of the reasons I first started making Youtube videos was because no one looks like me.

I knew I wanted to have a doll of myself on the cover. I thought, I wanna see myself as a Ken doll.

I've always felt a bit of an outsider. It used to worry me that, in terms of TV, I did not look like 'the girlfriend' or 'the daughter'. That pushed me to write my own stuff, as I thought no one else was going to write me a lead in the sitcom.

It's not like I try to be different, but every single person is unique, and every single person has special things to offer, and it's about embracing it and not being afraid of the fact that maybe you're different or quirky, but it's okay to be different, and it can be a wonderful thing.

I grew up watching cinema in my country that wasn't telling stories about us, and we had to find a way to connect, and our references, our role models had nothing to do with us. And I'm so glad that it's changing.

I'm grateful to the LGBTQ community for giving me the courage to write music about who I am and not just about my sexual orientation.

There's kind of a gift in being gay because, if you come out, you're forced to express yourself.

The idea that feeling confident and feeling misunderstood are mutually exclusive really bugs me. So a lot of what 'Rookie' is about is just showing that you can be both, and you can like whatever you want.

I want women and girls of African descent and of color to be able to not have to keep searching for stories about themselves.

I'm such a firm believer that everyone should see themselves in a character, and everyone should feel represented.

I was never raised as the daughter with vitiligo or the granddaughter with vitiligo or the cousin with vitiligo. I was just Chantelle.

It's important to read books and see people who look like you. It helps you know that you are not the only one or the weird one because you're a black girl and you are not seeing anyone who looks like you in these books.

I just want other women to be able to see themselves in the music.

'Essence' is political. I grew up on the magazine, looking at the covers. Seeing ourselves on the cover is political.

Everyone always said, 'When you're 10, you'll want to be Elizabeth, or when you're in college.' And every time, I was was just like, 'No, I'm Beanie. That's who I am.' So I love my name because I think it really suits me.