Taraji P. Henson Quotes

In my 20s, I was going round seeing agents who were patronising because I was fat and a girl, which was a double whammy. I knew what it was to feel out-of-the-loop.

As women, we feel we can't ask for things. There's been a lot of research done recently and, more often than not, if a woman goes in to ask for a raise, she'll get it. But she's thinking, 'Do I deserve it? I've got to give a list of why I deserve it.' Whereas a man will just go in and ask for a raise. It's so scary.

I'm tired of proving myself.

I've endlessly found myself in rooms of men and had the experience of feeling I wasn't being heard. It's a confidence thing.

How do I have to continue to excessively prove myself and always be the underdog? I don't get the respect I deserve, and that leads me to believe that maybe it is a colour issue.

I've seen it in so many talented young women who hold back because they're not sure that what they say will be smart enough. Or maybe they've said something in a prior meeting, and people acted like they hadn't said it, and that was crushing. Then we have all had the experience where 20 minutes later, a man says the same thing and everybody responds positively.... So don't take it personally. Take it seriously so that you understand it, and then try to devise techniques to overcome it.

The fact that a baby can be born today and condemned to a life of hardship, struggle, and discrimination simply because of sex is enraging.

I still need to go through the process of proving myself.

In the past when I was in Hollywood, I was like a dog. I felt humiliated. My English was not good. People would even ask me 'Jackie Who?'.

Women are being welcomed into science fiction, but it's through the back door.

I think, as a woman, you do sort of have to work twice as hard, but I don't feel as if I wasn't given opportunities.

You're constantly trying to prove yourself, even after you've made it.

I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.

I went through all my twenties thinking that I wasn't good enough.

Even before I went to the UN, I often would want to say something in a meeting - only woman at the table - and I'd think, 'OK well, I don't think I'll say that. It may sound stupid.' And then some man says it, and everybody thinks it's completely brilliant, and you are so mad at yourself for not saying something.

For me, it's very offensive when I notice that it's all about my appearance, how I look, that a man doesn't care who I am.

It is frustrating to be a Black woman in the entertainment industry.

I have to prove myself to everybody.

I don't feel that I've faced discrimination. I've had every chance to succeed and more, and I think that's what all women should have.

I think women and children and older people are the three least-respected groups in our society.

There is a thing about women, in particular, being endlessly grateful for the opportunities in life, rather than saying, 'I'm here because I'm good.'

Deep down inside, I do feel, at times, that I have to prove to people that I'm actually an artist.

You always try to prove yourself.

I was so ashamed of who I was. And I also felt like an outcast in gay society as well because I wasn't good-looking enough; my body wasn't good enough.

I would be remiss if I didn't say that it has been troubling for me to work within an institution that does not seem to recognize that I am a statistic.