Top 80 Kat Graham Quotes

I’m an activist. I’m a proud activist. So I want to be someone who is pro-black and pro-Africa and still be somebody that has positive influence.

Before ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ I was making beats, which is how I got will.i.am’s attention, and I went on tour with him.

‘Blade’ was amazing; I can’t imagine the character without Wesley Snipes. He just made a long, black leather trench coat look so cool.

I think magazines and interviews make celebrities into this bigger-than-life thing, but I’ve gotten bullied over trying different things with my makeup.

I love to add ’90s trends mixed with modern day pieces I find along my many travels. Like these cool fun hats from Europe I have. I love to collect different ones from every country. I have them from London to Brussels.

There’s not enough black films out there. There’s not enough Latin films, or films that have an Asian, Indian or Middle Eastern lead. The list goes on and on.

I feel like I can’t be sick without some story being made up or some photos being sold a month later.

I completely took off my eyebrows one time for a screen test. I hadn’t even gotten the role yet. So you have to have a commitment.

I’m somebody who doesn’t believe in conforming to maybe whatever is on the radio.

I don’t really have a main source for my style inspiration. It’s really about however I feel about myself at the moment.

I’m into Gucci a lot, like vintage ’70s everything. I’m into Versace.

Make your life about you, and once you build up yourself first, then you can focus on boys.

My biggest style inspirations come from the ’90s. I’m really inspired by TLC, Janet Jackson, and designers like Jeremy Scott. I’m hugely inspired by Club Kids from New York back in the ’90s. I’m inspired by the drag queen scene. Combat boots and the torn off jeans and a baggy shirt – I love that look.

I just want to make sure that I’m taking roles that are positive, real, honest reflections of African-Americans because I do think the media can put African-American women in the background. Then, unfortunately, what happens is, subconsciously, our culture begins to assess that as reality.

I love a cool bralette paired with a high-waisted jean, maybe with Chanel suspenders and a good platform shoe.

I have more of a desire to write songs about being an independent woman than being in love, songs about getting up and moving on even if I have a broken heart.

I’ve always been involved with charities and things like that, but when I started communicating with the fans and hearing their stories about the lives they lead, it really made an impact on me.

I’m happy when I have, like, one fan, but the fact that I’m getting fans from different places and different communities, it’s really amazing.

I’m not somebody who’s emotionally attached to an outcome of a character that I’m hired to play. The fans are.

I get a lot of backlash for wearing designers that I feel are creators and artists. I get it all the time.

I’d rather be hated for who I am than loved who I am not. Even if you’re not accepted, at least you are still yourself.

Sometimes fashion designers will be like, ‘This is what’s hot right now, and you will be cool if you wear this,’ but sometimes it’s too expensive or doesn’t look good on me or isn’t who I am, and I don’t need to just think that what you’re saying is what’s cool if I have my own identity.

If you don’t feel clean, it affects everything you do; you can’t even focus right.

When you get bullied, you automatically think that you’re the reason why you’re getting bullied. The reality is, it’s about them, not you… I’m all about blocking people. I’m all about saying, ‘You know what, I don’t need this in my life.’

I’ve been doing acting since I was 6 years old, and I don’t know how to do anything besides act and sing. Back in the day, you had to do it all – you had to sing, dance, and act. I’m from the old school where that is what I was trained to do, and that’s what I am expected to do, so it’s weird when people ask me to choose.

Even if you throw your hair up in a quick topknot or ponytail, you can add instant polish by wearing a headband or bejeweled barrette.

I think Sephora is great; it’s so accessible, and there are so many different palettes that you can get.

Work always comes first as an actor.

Will Smith is one of my favorite actors, and he’s also a triple threat. He successfully crossed over from music into acting.

Water for People is a non-profit international organization that brings together communities, entrepreneurs, governments – people – to create solutions that empower people to maintain their own reliable water systems and sanitation.

It’s important to keep your power and not give it up.

I had racially prejudiced comments directed at me on different blogs. People think that just because you’re in the spotlight, you’re fair game. It’s hard, and I don’t think you’re ready at any age for it. Thankfully, I have some great fans who got me through it.

I’m obsessed with cooking! I want a degree in the culinary arts!

Will Smith is one of my favorite actors, and he’s also a triple threat. He successfully crossed over from music into acting. Also, I liked ‘I Am Legend’ because it was so unexpected. The movie wasn’t what I thought it’d turn out to be.

I hope to do multiple characters throughout my life that are separate from me. I think it’s a cop-out if you play yourself in everything.

I run away from super-bandage-style Herve Leger dresses. I think it’s sexier for a woman to be in something sheer and loose.

You just can’t afford to care that much about the negative things people say about you. You just can’t!

I’m all about high-waisted pants and skirts, pencil skirts, and sheer, long-sleeves in the summer.

Tupac has always been somebody who represented a higher consciousness of what it means on both sides of the coin to be black in America. He and Prince were leaders who moved to the beat of their own drum, and I can only hope to follow in their footsteps.

Listen, I’m not a politician. I’m not a news reporter. I make music, and I act.

Live performances always feel like such a moment with all of the costumes and theatrics.

I learned that it’s OK to be stubborn about your craft, and it’s OK to demand excellence from the industry.

I learned about poise and dignity, and I learned about what it means to be an African-American in television and what that requires in terms of what kind of position you take for yourself and how you define your own reality in a world that is still finding its footing, to say the least.

I just don’t drink alcohol. I never have; I never will.

I love outdoor winter activities like snow tubing and snowball throwing.

I found my style and how I like to do makeup from trying and failing and trying and failing again, and unfortunately, I had to do it publicly to figure it out.

When people start to think they’re figuring out ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ it switches on you.

I just wanna be a good artist.

I like darker, mysterious scents and things that reflect my personality.

I just don’t stop working.

If you’re cast on ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ the likelihood of you dying is very good.

When you’re changing your diet, or you’re becoming a vegan, your system will become a bit more sensitive, and you just have to deal with it.

If I was on Broadway, I would want to do anything Vaudeville or a biopic.

I don’t feel like I necessarily juggle. I just feel like I’m focusing on being a singer/actor. That’s what I am, and it’s what I do.

If you’re a boxer, you have your trainer. As an actor, I have Ivana Chubbuck. She’s my teacher as an actress and in this crazy thing called life.

You make your mark by being true to who you are and letting that be your staple.

When you’re an entertainer, it’s hard not to compare yourself with the next person’s success. But you have to trust your own journey and your strengths and believe in yourself. I think that’s the best place to start.

I’m hoping I’ll eventually get to be a beauty blogger myself because I do my own makeup, and I have for years.

I think sometimes when you want attention, you can wear sunglasses, and people are like, ‘Who is that?’

I would really love to collaborate with Gwen Stefani and M.I.A.; artists that kind of make sense with me vocally. And in terms of style, I’m a very visual artist. I really love Pharell. I love people that really care about drums, and I like beat-heavy.

Sometimes what I think what the news is missing is the human element, the connection – the moment that you look into a little girl’s eyes or a father who has just left his family and risked everything just to try and survive.

I am more vintage than I am high fashion.

The hardest thing as somebody who does both is – and I’m very serious as an actor, and I consider myself very serious as a musician, engineer, music artist – is learning that it’s OK to be versatile.

When I moved to Atlanta, I felt like an outsider – away from my friends and family except for the LGBTQ community.

I don’t want to be alone at 80 years old, dripping in diamonds – having never helped anyone. That’s not my path. That’s not what I care about. That’s not what excites me.

I’d say when it comes to being who you are, just don’t be afraid to try things.

‘Roxbury Drive’ was the street I grew up on as a little kid, and it was the street that I first listened to records on, and where I actually really first fell in love with music.