Jill Scott Quotes

#1. I love Jill Scott! I love everything she puts on, how she does her hair; everything about Jill Scott is amazing!

Yvette Nicole Brown

#2. The only person that I'm really feeling - because she has an identity of her own, even though she has listened to Mary J. Blige - is Jill Scott.

Mary J. Blige

#3. There's a high school in Camden, New Jersey, I call the Jill Scott School. It's the Camden Creative Arts High School. Those teachers and kids are so passionate about what they do, and 98 percent of the senior class went on to college.

Jill Scott

#4. I always wanted to be a renaissance woman, do as many things as I possibly can and hopefully do them well or don't do them at all.

Jill Scott

#5. I'm a method actor as well as a method singer.

Jill Scott

#6. A woman is more than the sum of her parts. So I had an opportunity to present some work at the White House. I chose not just to talk about the sky, the planet, love or heartache. I wanted to actually be there, to place a mark on that moment.

Jill Scott

#7. The video for 'Whatever' is kind of a documentary in a way. It's showing that love can last. Not just in your early 20s or your late 30s, but in your 50s, 60s and 70s. There's an awful myth out there that when you get married, love and lovemaking fade. It's not true.

Jill Scott

#8. You owe it to yourself to live beautifully. And I am.

Jill Scott

#9. The highs, the lows, the peaks, the valleys, whatever, it's all going to go into the art, whether I'm singing or acting or whatever.

Jill Scott

#10. I've been around the world and I've had bras made in different places, and each time I'm experiencing the same troubles: the painful shoulders, the underwire cutting into my flesh.

Jill Scott

#11. I'd been told that when you first put your feet on African ground, you'll be hit by a feeling of overwhelming understanding, like you've returned home and suddenly belong. Quite frankly, I didn't feel that.

Jill Scott

#12. When I auditioned with Anthony Minghella (The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency), I loved the audition process, although I hated him for it. Because he had me audition six times for that role. Maybe three hours each. He wanted to see how quickly I could vary.

Jill Scott

#13. Nikki Giovanni! I got a book of hers from the library, and there was this woman who could paint me on paper with words - my whole little experience. I thought it was wonderful.

Jill Scott

#14. When Jett puts my face in his hands and tells me, 'Mommy you're so pretty' or smells me, it's so wonderful.

Jill Scott

#15. People think that lemon is good for the voice, but it dries it out.

Jill Scott

#16. I've been reading poetry publicly for 20 years, and this is what you do - you express, you sometimes dig a bit to get a conversation started. That's the point of poetry. You're supposed to go, 'Hmmmm,' and 'Woooh!'

Jill Scott

#17. All man-made religions are limited. I go my own way.

Jill Scott

#18. 'Saturday Night Live' is a show that I think I could have a lot of fun on, just being different characters and maybe singing, too.

Jill Scott

#19. I love when I am around a veteran in [show] business. Because I can dig and ask questions, and find out the "who" and "what" of it all.

Jill Scott

#20. Seriously, in America there are more big, curvy girls than there are little girls, and men love us, too.

Jill Scott

#21. Lately I've been going to all these high schools talking to the students, answering their questions, listening to what they have to say. It has been an incredible journey to be around them and try to give them what my mother gave me.

Jill Scott

#22. When I got my success, I became decadent for a while. This was 2003 to 2008. I fell for tiramisu really hard. I've become more moderate since, because African-Americans are prone to diabetes.

Jill Scott

#23. A nutritionist has told me to have very little butter and very little spices, but I can't live like that.

Jill Scott

#24. I'm a secret interior decorator. There's a mural on my dining room wall of the railroad tracks at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. I love having my hometown with me out here in California.

Jill Scott

#25. I've done a lot of fighting in my time, and I'm down to do some more. I don't want to, but you know, there's just certain things that you can't sit down and take.

Jill Scott

#26. I truly have a village supporting me. My son has godmothers, godfathers, grandparents and so many others in his life who love him as much as I do. They're there for both of us. I may not have a mate or husband, but I'm definitely not a single parent.

Jill Scott

#27. I love foods that start in my cheeks and then vibrate up.

Jill Scott

#28. I like a man who smells good. Puts on cologne; lotions his body. It keeps me wanting. I like feeling that way.

Jill Scott

#29. All I have to do is be me on stage. But acting, I have to be someone else, and walk how they would walk and blink how they would blink. I used to talk about it bad like, 'Aw man, that person made $10 million a movie?' But now I understand why they do. I get it now.

Jill Scott

#30. One day, I just got up to read a poem and started singing. I looked around - the reaction was great. And I said, 'Oh, boy. I like this.'

Jill Scott

#31. If a woman is happy, then your society is happy.

Jill Scott

#32. Find new treasures in yourself. Love doesn't die. Love is unyielding. It's going to come back. The more you love and appreciate yourself, the more prepared you are when the real thing shows up.

Jill Scott

#33. I'm the girl that waits for the director to say, 'I like that,' or 'Can you boost it up?,' or 'Can you pull it down?' I'm that kind of actor. I started in theater, so that's the feedback that I'm accustomed to. It's the feedback that I really thrive off of.

Jill Scott

#34. African people worldwide are known to be welcoming and open-minded.

Jill Scott

#35. For a writer it's a dream to sit and watch people as close as possible.

Jill Scott

#36. I'm excited about turning 40. I've been an adult for a long time, but there is a difference between being an adult and being a grown-up. I'm someone's mummy now and I'm enjoying that. I feel as if I'm about to hit my peak.

Jill Scott

#37. My stepfather was a very nasty individual.

Jill Scott

#38. I think all any artist or person wants to do is grow spiritually, emotionally, professionally and mentally.

Jill Scott

#39. Anytime you share life stories with other people, you know, you are acknowledging their humanity and kind of accessing some things about yourself, and other people start to expect things about themselves. It's kind of like a fellowship.

Jill Scott

#40. I truly loved being pregnant and feeling what was going on inside my body and watching it change. It's difficult to recoup, but still amazing nonetheless. I would have another one.

Jill Scott

#41. My intention is to make music that you can enjoy at all times.

Jill Scott

#42. Once I started looking for a record deal, I had a trainer. And the trainer told me that I would never sell a record if I didn't lose weight.

Jill Scott

#43. I'm not interested in being commodified. I'm not into being sold. I'm not a slave.

Jill Scott

#44. I do so play an instrument! I play air! I play the air with my fingers, and I'm in touch with the deepest emotions within. It took me a while to learn that whatever I feel like doing is the right thing. If I want to play an invisible instrument, I will.

Jill Scott

#45. I don't necessarily think of myself as a feminist, but I'm a whole person.

Jill Scott

#46. My earliest influence was Quincy Jones. I thought 'The Wiz' soundtrack was the most amazing thing I'd ever heard. It was my first record and you had Michael Jackson, Ted Ross, Nipsey Russell and Diana Ross on it. I even took it to show and tell in third grade!

Jill Scott

#47. Mos Def is one of the most creative, intelligent human beings I've had the opportunity to work with. He is fun. The entire time, he would go in and out of different characters, just for the fun of it. Awesome energy.

Jill Scott

#48. Being a mom, it feels like I did something so powerful and amazing. It's such a gigantic blessing, and a confirmation that the Creator exists. And all of that has made me feel sexier and stronger. I call it 'lava in my spine.'

Jill Scott

#49. I think human beings will always still really enjoy using our imaginations, and 'Fringe' allows you to do that. It's slightly scary and believable. There just might be an alternate universe. There just might be people on the other side that are like us, living a different life.

Jill Scott

#50. I'm sorry that 'Fringe' is gone. I really wanted to do more on that show. It was great!

Jill Scott

#51. When you get a jean for a larger girl, you have to have them tailored for you. Tailoring is indeed everything.

Jill Scott

#52. I don't rhyme right now, but I may ten years from now.

Jill Scott

#53. Sometimes I felt as a writer I was purging, and it almost hurt to purge to that level. Now it doesn't feel that way, maybe because I'm older. Maybe life has given me some punches, but it didn't knock me down.

Jill Scott

#54. I was conceived after doctors told my mother she'd never have children. I'm a miracle - we all are.

Jill Scott

#55. When I get onstage, I automatically feel beautiful.

Jill Scott

#56. When I write a song, I tap into the emotion and the feeling and then I use the emotion to write the words. It's the opposite when I act. I use the words and tap into the emotion.

Jill Scott

#57. There are repercussions to everything, even advancement and success. And I think that the repercussions to my success was the loss of my marriage.

Jill Scott

#58. I'm going to keep it real gully with you; the first two months, I wanted to give him back. I expected someone to come and save me because after you have the baby, nobody cares about you anymore. Nobody cares if you sleep, nobody cares if you eat. It's just you and this all-consuming thingy!

Jill Scott

#59. I think, as an artist, you have to have experienced some deep turmoil, some kind of pain, because that's what connects you with the world. That's what makes it juicy!

Jill Scott

#60. I'm being all of me, and it feels stupendous. I don't want to leave this feeling.

Jill Scott

#61. If you can't help me grow, there's no point with you being in my life.

Jill Scott

#62. I'm looking for someone who works as hard as I do. Who loves their work as much as I do, so at the end of the night we have something real to talk about, something exciting that makes our blood flow and boil.

Jill Scott

#63. Beauty is an understanding of what you have, and it's forgiving yourself of what you don't have, and appreciating all of it.

Jill Scott

#64. Balancing is hard. I've lost roles that I really wanted because I had set up a tour. I cancelled tours to do roles before. But I have to find the time to make that up to my audience. I made a commitment to them.

Jill Scott

#65. The artists who stand out to me have a passion for what they do. There are a lot of people who can sing. It's just like when you go to church and people are singing because it sounds good, not because it feels good. There's a difference.

Jill Scott

#66. Whatever happens in my life, whether I stand up or I fall down, whatever the case, I'm going to use it in my art. Why? Because I'm an artist and I have to.

Jill Scott

#67. Being on set is a hard thing. A lot of people are like, 'Oh, you get to make a movie, and it's all fun.' But the reality is, it's a lot of hours. It's a lot of reshoots; it's a lot of waiting. And you can become increasingly agitated by the amount of time that you are waiting. But that's real.

Jill Scott

#68. You have to be humble when you're dealing with God.

Jill Scott

#69. I just want to continue to grow, as an actor, and dig. Hopefully, one day, I'll lose myself in a role. My only worry about that is that I just want to be able to come back home. I don't want to get lost forever. That scares me.

Jill Scott

#70. Africa doesn't leap on you immediately; it seeps slowly, and it's incredibly important to be respectful and humble there.

Jill Scott

#71. It's frustrating me - that booty is gonna sag at some point. And if you allow enough people to come inside your physical space, they leave traces.

Jill Scott

#72. There's a certain level of realness in Philly. You know, just - people are people. You know, it doesn't matter who you are or who you think you are, you're just a person in Philly.

Jill Scott

#73. My grill is intended to be discreet. It's there because I enjoy jewelry.

Jill Scott

#74. I defy any woman who is pregnant and trying to concentrate really hard not to feel distracted.

Jill Scott

#75. Don't stop dreaming just because you had a nightmare.

Jill Scott

#76. I think every individual has his or her own power, and it's a matter of working, taking time and defining what that power is.

Jill Scott

#77. People is, I think, it's their nature - some people's nature, in a way, to be angry or jealous or just spiteful about somebody else's blessings.

Jill Scott

#78. I have a few caftans just for lounging purposes. When I want to feel free, it's the closest thing to feeling naked without being naked.

Jill Scott

#79. As slavery died for the greater good of America, and the movement for equality sputtered to life, the white woman was on the cover of every American magazine. She was the dazzling jewel on every movie screen, the glory of every commercial and television show.

Jill Scott

#80. I chose 'No. 1 Ladies' Detective,' or I'll say it chose me, and it was an absolute blessing, for the experience of being in Africa for seven months and learning so many different things, from languages to foods to greetings. On so many levels, it was an incredible experience.

Jill Scott

#81. For me, hair is an accoutrement. Hair is jewelry. It's an accessory.

Jill Scott

#82. When I was 12, I wrote a list of things to do before I died. 'Own a Picasso' was one of those things.

Jill Scott

#83. For anyone who feels they are overwhelmed by their job, or maybe they take their job too seriously or are working too hard, I say go to a safari, particularly the Okavango Delta, and just be humbled.

Jill Scott

#84. Everybody's looking for love, and you want to love somebody and be loved in return.

Jill Scott

#85. I'm a girl who enjoys a great meal with great friends, so I'm not really that concerned about weight loss.

Jill Scott

#86. My only job is to be happy. So for everybody that cares about me and is not trying to be all up in a celebrity's business, just know that I'm happy. My son is happy. We enjoy our lives,

Jill Scott

#87. I just think it's silly to be stingy with compliments. If you see someone and they strike you as beautiful in any way, why not let them know?

Jill Scott

#88. In order to grow emotionally and mentally, sometimes you have to grow physically as well. I'm just trying to grow, man, and always I just want to be the best and most confident me I can be.

Jill Scott

#89. Just because you have a nightmare doesn't mean you stop dreaming.

Jill Scott

#90. When you have a cast and crew of people who make it light hearted and crack jokes, and break treats, and understand that we are all in this together. That's a biggest plus that you can have.

Jill Scott

#91. Singing and acting suit me. I made a vow to myself to do everything that I can do with this life that I have, and I have to find the time to do this. Sometimes I need to be an actress. Sometimes I don't need to be Jill. However, everyone is always looking for the Jill in everything.

Jill Scott

#92. I'm going to be a strict mum. I know that love is the most important thing - you've got to have lots of kisses and cuddles - but you also need to mix it with discipline or you'll be in a heap of trouble.

Jill Scott

#93. Why do you get to act all crazy over a guy and I don't?" Anna asked.
"You have to earn the crazy," Grace said. "You're not old enough yet.

Jill Shalvis

#94. The best gift I was ever given was the arts. My mum gave me those on a silver platter. Growing up, her and my grandmother would take me to ballets, classical concerts, even smoky jazz clubs I wasn't supposed to be in!

Jill Scott

#95. I have been training since 8th grade, but it has to do with listening, more than practice.

Jill Scott

#96. I didn't leave home until 27. I was an only child raised in Philadelphia by my mother and grandmother. My grandmother controlled the stove. She made a lot of potato meals - mashed potato, potato souffle, potato pancakes. When we didn't have electricity, we ate romantically by candlelight.

Jill Scott

#97. My heart and prayers go out to all single moms because it's tough, and I can't imagine any teenager dealing with a baby and all those hormones raging.

Jill Scott

#98. I believe the relationship you have with your government is not so different to a love relationship.

Jill Scott

#99. I'd love to work with Missy Elliott. I'd love to work with Bonnie Raitt. I'd love, love, love to work with Barbra Streisand. I'm reaching, because why not? You don't know what's going to happen in this life.

Jill Scott

#100. All you ever really want is a great character and great writing. As an actor, that's the juiciest sandwich you could ever ask for.

Jill Scott