Jenny Han Quotes

I thought, 'Oh, this is great,' because maybe someone who does look like me will watch 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' and realize that they can be an actor if they want to be, or they can be a superhero. They can have a hero that looks like them as well.

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.

The weight of expectation is huge. But for me, that pressure has been outweighed by getting text messages from mums I know saying how huge it is for their mixed-race daughters that I am playing Hermione.

Obama was the best thing for black nerds everywhere. Finally we had a role model. Before Obama, we basically had Urkel.

I'd like to be the role model to teach other people who have Down's syndrome to be actors and actresses and to be themselves and not try to be a big shot.

It feels amazing to be a role model for people with and without disabilities.

I don't do stuff to be a star. I do it because I feel it's important for kids, African American kids, to see an African American face that plays baseball.

When I grew up, I never saw anyone looking like me on TV, you know? I'm so glad to see a lot more of us on television, whether it's Mindy Kaling or it's Irrfan Khan or Freida Pinto. You know, I hope, like, little girls across the world can just look at me and say, 'Ah, I want to be that!' Indian or not, it shouldn't matter.

I just want to be fully challenged as an artist, so that anyone who looks like me, who relates to me, says, 'Oh, if Danielle did it, I can.'

Latino people have come up to me and said they were motivated to become a lawyer because they saw me play one on TV - and you can't discount how great it is when they tell me I was the first.

I'm proud to have played characters who've inspired people to live out loud, and I'm lucky to have reached an audience that's been incredibly enthusiastic and supportive.

Being the first female Doctor and showing children that their heroes in shows don't always look the same is a huge honour for me.

When I was younger, I didn't have that type of person that I could look up to and be like, 'OK, this is someone who dresses like me and I relate to.' I didn't have that growing up, so to give that opportunity to a younger generation of women - and not just Somali women, but anyone who feels different - that means a lot to me.

I never saw a little African-American girl saving the world. So to be able to be that for not only myself but girls who look like me is really important and inspiring. Unfortunately, we don't see ourselves saving the world a lot, and if we do see any type of superhero, that person usually has superpowers.

We always talk about how important representation is. It's so important to see someone that looks like you - whether you're African American, Asian, Indian or whatever your background is - doing incredible things. It's just motivation to go out there and do incredible things yourself.

I get reached out to by a lot of people who just thank me for representing them and their friends. Just showing people like them on TV. It's just really awesome to hear from them.

I think it's important for youngsters from all walks of life to have some sort of representative that they can look up to and aspire to be and let them know there's a chance for anybody from any background.

Maybe some young girl seeing me on the Emmy stage may have meant something for them.

I hope that there's a little black boy somewhere in Montana that never thought that he would see a reflection of himself, and he turns on the television, like, 'Oh my God, thank you.'

I want to create the content I didn't have while growing up.

I want to be in this position for people to be able to see I made it. I'm gay, I made it. You can. Not exactly doing the same thing I'm doing, but if it's a job or school or whatever, you're able to make it.

I didn't have a hero playing in sports that looked like me.

It's hard to be what you can't see.

The more people feel comfortable to showcase that and the more we highlight that as a visibility for young girls to see and look up to - I think that's better.

When I get to meet my audience when I go speak at colleges or when I'm walking down the street, it's been really eye-opening how many people have been touched to see someone that looks like them on television.