Words matter. These are the best KiKi Layne Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
I know for me personally, I’m a person that tends to pull back from the people that love me when I’m going through something.
Will Smith is my favorite actor, because he has so much variety in his career. He’s done all types of roles, played in all types of worlds, and to me, that’s the fun of acting. That’s why I started doing it when I was eight years old, because you get to be whatever you want.
That is the thing that brought the Black community through so many of the hardships that we’ve faced historically. It’s the ability to love and laugh and experience joy still in so many ways.
I’m committed to jumping into roles, worlds, and stories that historically actors who look like me have been left out of.
I’m very grateful to Barry Jenkins, who took a chance on me.
Instead of asking for permission, we’re seeing more artists and creatives taking control over the stories we tell.
It means so much to be a part of bringing James Baldwin’s words to life.
I think a lot of times for women, especially in this industry, we’re forced to do things for beauty that aren’t good for what we already have.
My mom put me into a performing arts elementary school back in Cincinnati, so I started studying acting in school when I was seven.
Watching ‘Moonlight,’ I just recognized this patience in the film – allowing moments to live and linger – and I just thought that was so beautiful.
Like, no, I can really be queen of the universe. I can be president. I can be, I don’t know, an alien from Venus. Like you could just seriously… and that’s the fun of acting.
There was never a moment when I thought I’d be a dentist, I’ve always wanted to perform.
I never weigh myself.
We all have those moments when you’re sitting in your feelings and you’re sitting in your thoughts and you’re taking in what your current situation is.
Making films is such a large, collaborative effort and there’s so many people who are a part of it.
Acting is communication. It’s giving and receiving.
I’ve determined my style – I like to call it elegant funk. You’ll see me in some really beautiful gowns but I’ll still have my septum piercing in.
I definitely want to get into producing. I want to be on the side of the table where I can give people jobs.
I think the biggest thing is reminding myself how hard I worked for it,’ Layne continues. ‘It wasn’t just handed to me. I trained so hard; I’ve been so committed.
As an actor, my commitment is to be really mindful of how I’m representing Black women. It’s the heart of my drive, and my career is to expand how Black women have been represented.
An unlikely source of inspiration? My nieces and nephews. I feel encouraged to keep going because I know that if I keep going, then I can tell them to keep going.
My favorite artist is J. Cole. I like Kehlani a lot. Teyana Taylor is dope too.
To me Kate Spade represents a woman who still has stuff to get done. She’s like, ‘yeah I’m stylish but I need to be comfortable and able to move.’ I’m excited to be a part of a brand that’s meaningful to women in that way.
I used to climb trees and ride my bike way too fast downhill.
I was artsy.
I love big jewelry trends and moments, especially some gold hoops.
I’m very grateful that ‘Beale Street’ was that opportunity for me to be introduced to the industry in that way and have some doors open for me.
Fashion is another opportunity for me to break through boundaries and to be seen wearing things.
As much as I love to slay a red carpet hitting the ground running with ‘Beale Street’ and ‘Native Son,’ representing two such important voices in James Baldwin and Richard Wright let people know that I’m an artist and I really have something to say with this gift.
I think I learned the value of being more patient with myself.
We witness so many people lose themselves in this industry, and sacrifice who they really are for success and accolades.
It’s important for me to not be put into any type of box because that steals the fun of acting. I want to do everything.
The thing about tarot – maybe this to me is the difference between it and working with a psychic – to me it’s clarifying the things that you already know. I don’t feel like any tarot reading I’ve done or received was particularly surprising. They always speak to things that you kind of felt already.
I think with the ‘Fresh Prince,’ there were all of these really interesting personalities and characters, and yet there’s so much love in that household.
Love & Basketball’ has stuck with me since I first saw it.
Who do I have a cinematic crush on? I mean, it’s such a go-to: Michael B. Jordan. I was like, it’s everybody’s go-to. Who else?
The only thing I’m sure of is that I want to keep doing work that speaks to me.
Growing up, my favorite movie was ‘The Lion King.’ I used to watch it every day and create these extravagant stories with my Barbies and stuffed animals. My dad says I would say the entire movie out loud, and it’s still the one VHS that I have.
It’s amazing to me how quickly the industry will try to put you into a box. It’s like, I did ‘Beale Street.’ And they decided now, all of a sudden, ‘Oh, okay. KiKi Layne does those little quiet indie dramas.’ I’m like, ‘No! That’s just where I got started.’
My mom knew we were going to call me Kiki by birth. I think she had the nickname before she had my name, and she then found the name that would allow that.
I think especially when depicting young love, so often we see young love where you’re just all about this other person, where you’re willing to do everything, anything, wherever they need you to be.
It would be tough to live a life without any of the people you loved, where you can’t even build new relationships. That connectivity is so important as humans. I wouldn’t want to live like that.
I used to have really bad acne and so there’s a cream and a gel that I use.
Well, I used to model back in high school, and I was one of those people that, every week I was tuning in to ‘America’s Next Top Model.’
What does it mean when I wear something that makes me look like a Disney Princess? Versus something that’s like ‘ooh, maybe Kiki Layne can be a sex symbol.’ Because these are things that, sometimes dark skin actors with natural hair, we don’t get put into those types of conversations.
The black community is under attack in so many different ways.
I’m trying to be what I want to see more of: Black women onscreen.
The Kate Spade woman is a classy sort of working woman who’s still stylish.
It’s important for me to not just do the same type of roles and movies that I’ve seen actresses that look like me do.
I want to push the boundaries on the roles that have historically been given to actresses who look like me. There is so much more we can do. There always has been.
Aaliyah is my favorite singer.
I’m a huge fan of ‘The Avengers,’ but ‘Black Panther’ was so special to me.
It’s not lost on me to have the ability to be wearing custom Dior or Gucci, with my box braids or my bantu knots. It’s another opportunity to show that Black girls belong in these places and that what I naturally bring as a Black girl belongs as well.
I’m just hoping that, as more black artists take control of the narratives that are out there, more opportunities will come around for artists of colour. We want to make the same waves that the white artists do.
If you see black people being portrayed in this one way well then, when you see a black person in real life, you’re going to carry some of that way of thinking with you.