Diahann Carroll quotes: on materialism, sexism, coping with cancer, being remembered, and more.
“The lesson that I would hope everyone would learn quite early in their career is don’t take it personally. Whatever it is that happens, don’t take it personally. It’s part of the business and the person that is either hiring or firing – that’s their business. That’s what they are there for and it has nothing to do with how you feel.”
“Make a special effort to understand what your life, professionally, is all about. As you do that, you begin to understand what the industry is all about. Where you fit and where you do not fit.”
“If one door is not opening, we must try a different door, and not sit there and complain. Forget it and move on to something else. Never stop. Never stop learning.”
“You have to keep your sanity as well as know how to distance yourself from it while still holding onto the reins tightly. That is a very difficult thing to do.”
“By taking action and doing something positive, fear is replaced with hope.”
“Education is a powerful tool, and we are blessed to have information at our fingertips in this electronically-connected world.”
“First and foremost, it is listening to each other. The listening to each other has to bring about a desire to make what you just said a reality. Make something of it. Make it real. There is no collaboration if we cannot hear each other.”
“In the beginning, I found myself dealing with a show business dictated by male white supremacists and chauvinists. As a black female, I had to learn how to tap dance around the situation. I had to find a way to present my point of view without being pushy or aggressive. In the old days, the only women I saw in this business were in makeup, hairdressing, and wardrobe departments. Now I’m surrounded by women executives, writers, directors, producers, and even women stagehands.”
“I suppose our lives need to be more integrated. We have white communities and black communities and white country clubs and black country clubs. It’s very important when we integrate ourselves, and it helps us to have a better understanding of the world, to people all over the world and this is the time in history that we have become very aware of how important that is, so I think it’s just really – we have to know each other and work together and play together in order to write about each other.”
“I always repeat what my mother told me when I was growing up that if someone has a problem with me because of the color of my skin that they’re ill. There is something wrong with that. There is so many different colors, shapes, sizes, of the face and the eyes, and so many things all over the world that if you have a problem adjusting to something that you’re not familiar.. that they’re very sad because they don’t understand the world in which they live.”
“[On supporting president Trump] We’ve never had a president like Trump and we will never have again. I just can’t understand you people – you democrats scraping the bottom of the barrel to make our president Donald Trump look bad. If you just spend that time and effort to come up with a political solution, our country would be a paradise. Just leave him, he’s doing important changes to improve our country. We’ve never had a president like Trump and we will never have again in the future, so just respect his efforts for this nation.”
“I had a mom and a pop who kept telling me that I was wonderful at a very early age. So when someone said to me, ‘Oh, you’re stuck up. Who do you think you are?’ I’d say, ‘I know who I am, and I don’t mind being stuck up.'”
“I always kept in my mind that my mother only wanted what was best for me. I’ve had some fans in my time, but nobody could make me feel as special as she did. She was the first person who made me want to reach for the stars.”
“I’ve learned to enjoy my life. I’m not divided and guilty about the fact that I want to work. The guilt is gone. I won’t allow that word in my life, and I’ve forgotten how to spell it.”
“Meanwhile, it’s the recognition of my grandchildren that really matters to me now. I never thought I’d feel such joy with my family; they have become the world to me.”
“I’ve been nominated for Oscars and Emmy awards. And I’ve won a Tony and a Golden Globe. But a nomination for Best Performance as a Mother was never even a remote possibility. I was always a hard-working woman.”
“Well, I’ve done most of the things I’ve really wanted to do in my career. I am enjoying my family. That includes my grandchildren. I am enjoying my friends more than I ever have in my life because I have the time, and travel, and I just think it’s kind of the best of all worlds. Everything is better than I’ve had it before.”
“I’m not a fighter. I usually smile and then go into my room and cry my eyes out.”
“I’m no pushover, but I do have the kind of manners that have made me hold back frequently in my lifetime.”
“I married four times and I’m glad I had the opportunity to have those efforts, because I learned a great deal about myself.”
“Some people might say I’m too image-conscious. They don’t think that walking around in beaded dresses and heels adds up to a meaningful life. I don’t do that everyday. But I do it more than your favorite senior citizen. I’m materialistic and have been since I was young. My idea of a good time is shopping, and nobody is going to make me feel guilty about it.”
“To me, high heels have always been symbols of sensuality. I like the way I feel in them. And when you become a senior citizen, there’s great pleasure to be had in the fact that even when the tummy isn’t as taut as it used to be, the legs are still shapely and slender. They really are the last things to go, you know.”
“Maybe that’s what happens when you become a senior citizen. You see yourself with clarity for the first time in your life.”
“I hope that there are no persons that would want to think ill of me in any direction or any behavior.”
“I’ve spent about that amount of time trying to tell the public that there was purpose in my business, my career and the roller coaster ride… how the people I associated with worked together.”
“I am a breast cancer survivor. I was intrigued to learn how many people prefer to talk to someone if they are familiar with their face, like an actor or a politician. So, I began traveling around the country and doing speeches.”
“I considered Nat King Cole to be a friend and, in many ways, a mentor. He always had words of profound advice.”
“So, if I sound grateful, it’s because I am. I’ve been hanging around the entertainment business for nearly five decades. God willing, I will be singing and dancing and acting my way into the hearts of men and women for many years to come. But, more important, I want to keep up the good fight, continue carrying important messages, and be around when we win this crusade against cancer. Ours is a mighty battle, but one worth every ounce of our courage and commitment, together.”
“I think it is one of the most uplifting times of my life to be able to travel and meet every age, every group, every color, every sex, and to acknowledge how people accept it and deal with it. If you have a message from one person, it can be helpful to others even if I take it to my next speech with me.”
“I like to think I opened doors for other women, although that wasn’t my original intention.”
“I have a lot to be grateful for. I’ve had a long career in entertainment that has taken me onto countless stages and into millions of living rooms around the world. I am grateful to have spent a lifetime doing what I love: singing, entertaining and working hard for causes that I believe are important to all man- and womankind.”
“[On how she wanted to be remembered] As someone who loved her work and tried to do the best work she possibly could at every time, at every turn and tried to be the best mom she possibly could be in addition to acknowledging the work.”
“I’ve had a good time.”
