Coming From The '50s, Things Were Very

I Came From Poverty And Was Part Of Those Circumstances.

I Was Kind Of A Bouncy Kid. I Used To Roller-skate Into The Sides Of Cars.

I'm An Air Force Brat And I've Lived All Over The World And This Country And There Were People In My Community Who Were Gay - Nurses, Hairdressers, Designers - People Who Just Had A Different Way About Themselves.

I Never Went In Thinking, "you're An African-american Woman, So You're Never Going To Win." I Was Just In Career Doing Beauty Pageants For The Experience, And To Show My Brains And Talent And Help Break Stereotypes. It Wasn't Like, "oh, I'll Become A Star. I'm Beautiful." I Never Thought I Was Pretty. I Couldn't Even Put On Eyelashes Or Makeup. When You Come From An Environment That's Military, And They Don't Stress That Topic Of Aesthetics Or Beauty Pageants And Makeup, There Are A Lot Of Things You Just Don't Have That City Girls Have.

And As I Reinvent Myself And I'm Constantly Curious About Everything, I Can't Wait To See What's Around The Corner In Newfound Art And Entertainment And Exploration.