Nicole Ari Parker

Every parent knows this moment in a child's age when he or she needs your attention in a very specific way because it's the beginning and ending of the early life of imagination. It's such a responsibility.

My daughter has a vivid imagination, and so does my son.

Not just as a black woman, but as a woman, since the beginning of time, beauty has been our responsibility.

Being away from home was tough, but the challenge and the thrill of being on Broadway was so fulfilling, and I'm thankful to my husband for making it possible and holding it down at home.

I think 'Soul Food' had the biggest impact on me because that's where I was really able to shine as an actress and because I also met my husband there, and that was a huge turning point in my personal life. So, that show will stick with me forever and ever and ever.

We're all moving at such a high rate that we have to grab the frozen dinners and the McDonald's. We can't make it a way of life - we have to get back to real, simple, clean good foods. It will save our lives on so many levels; not just spina bifida, but obesity, diabetes, everything. Food is our medicine.

Raising children uses every bit of your being - your heart, your time, your patience, your foresight, your intuition to protect them, and you have to use all of this while trying to figure out how to discipline them.

I had a brilliant drama teacher while I was at Roland Park: Ann Mainolfi. But the school was mostly rich in academics. It wasn't like I was prepping myself for a life in acting. There, you prepped yourself to have a stable future. The school's piece de resistance is college prep - it didn't teach you how to audition for a TV show.

My humor is a lot like Kristen Wiig's from 'Saturday Night Live' or 'Bridesmaids.' Quirky, off the beaten path.