It took me a while to love my lips
'cause growing up with this set of soup coolers,
as we call them, I got a lot, a lot of flack.
Kids were merciless.
They teased me constantly.
I had to grow into my lips.
They took up about 50% of my face
when I was really young,
and so I was very self-conscious about them.
But then, as I grew older,
I couldn't imagine my face without them.
They're a reflection of my father's lips.
They're actually the perfect combination
of my parents' lips.
I have my mom's little bow up on the top
and my dad's fullness.
I think of them every time I look in the mirror.
Hi! I'm Gina Torres, and I love my lips.
Quite frankly, I'm getting the last laugh
because somewhere in high school,
the Paris pout came into
fashion.
We all knew that the Paris pout was just a euphemism
for beautiful Afro-American, Afro-Latino lips
that were full, and full of life
and frame the face in a beautiful, beautiful way.
And so my lips became the envy
of the school and
became the envy of a city. And now they're just
a part of who I am.
I would tell my younger self to hold on tight,
as I've told my younger self many things over the years.
Hold on tight.
It's gonna get better
and the world will catch up with you.
My daughter has a version of my lips.
She is also the beautiful and perfect combination
of her dad and her mom.
The most important thing I can teach my daughter
about self-confidence and beauty is
it starts inside.
It starts with self-love. It starts with self-acceptance.
And when you get to that point, it's unstoppable
because the world sees what you see
when you accept it in yourself.
The best advice I ever got?
I was working in a bakery on the Upper West Side
in high school and it was my senior year.
And God, I just wanted to get out there
and I just wanted to do it.
And this other actor, working actor,
who was a regular came in and I recognized him
because I kind of had a little crush on him.
And he said then, "You know, you're gonna hit
your sweet spot later.
There's a maturity to you that won't make sense
for a few years, so just hang in there."
Here I am! He was right.
Didn't think it would take this long, but he was right.
I am a late bloomer.
I absolutely would consider myself a late bloomer.
And that's all about acceptance.
That's all about just understanding a little bit more
about how the world works and your part in it
and embracing it.
I just turned 50.
And as my girlfriend would say, "50 fine!"
So yes, I love that. 50 fine, 50 fabulous.
It's really the best birthday I've ever had.
I am so in my body,
so good.
And thank God, healthy and excited about what's next.
And more than ever, feel like I'm prepared
to take on whatever's next.