Vanessa Williams Quotes

I'm so glad that Hollywood and America are embracing women when they get in their 40s instead of putting us out to pasture.

My career seems to have worked out OK, especially since I turned 40. I've always had a character part, mind you - I've never played the princess. But if you're used to doing that, it must be soul-destroying to hit 40 and suddenly find there's nothing for you to do.

You want to see women your own age in films.

I think that Hollywood misconstrues actresses saying, 'Oh I wanna play a strong female character,' like we all want to play, like, superheroes or something.

There is this idea that you have to play heroines or women who succeed.

I want to keep playing strong female roles. I don't mean superheroes, but women who are really alive.

I want to do roles that take women a step farther. I don't want to be slotted into anything. But if I get a brilliant role which requires me to be a mother, then I will do it. But I want people to see that a woman could be anything at whatever age, even if she is married or has two kids.

I don't want to stop acting, but acting in some ways is a young man's game.

I'm 60, and I did 60-year-old women songs. I'm not trying to be the Hip-Hop Queen, although I am the original Hip Hop Queen.

I seem to be getting a lot of things pushed my way that are strong women. It's like people see Hackers and they send me offers to play tough women with guns, the kind who wear no bra and a little tank top. I'd like to play strong women who are also very feminine.

People pay to see movies with women looking beautiful, but I think there will be a place for me to play women looking my own age.

When you age, you can do all kinds of roles. You don't have to look great. You can be the mom, the aunt. You can have a small part. You're an actor.

I do work with a lot of women in my company, and I write a lot of roles for women over 40. I think, in 'Feud' alone, we have 15 roles for women over 40, which I'm very proud about.

We started by playing girls who only married at the end of the picture. We didn't play wives. That came later. But the most dreadful thing was when a star had to play a mother. That was the beginning of her professional end.

Hindi cinema hasn't moved at all in terms of roles for actresses beyond 18 years.

I think when an actress is good, roles in mid-forties is a great thing.

I have always received roles of strong women from the beginning.

The great thing about show business is that there's no mandatory retirement age.

You can't be a model at age 60, but you certainly can be an actress.

People are calling a lot, sending scripts my way. Yes, it's wonderful because, let's face it, there aren't many wonderful scripts for women over the age of 10.

Until 45 I can play a woman in love. After 55 I can play grandmothers. But between those ten years, it is difficult for an actress.

The cool thing is that, unlike film, the theatre roles for women get better and better as you get older.

You know, right now, they say - I don't know who says this, but somebody told me - there's three male roles to every female role. And I guess I'd work on evening that up. Making great roles for women. It's just such a huge challenge.

It's hard because I seek out strong female roles. I turn down a lot of stuff, not because it's not good, but because I don't want to play certain types of characters. I don't like to just play the pretty girl.

At about 40, the roles started slowing down. I started getting offers to play mothers and grandmothers.