Deborah Joy Winans

I sang in the choir growing up and more recently served on the worship team at my church in California.

I think I'm constantly resorting to making sure to keep God's perspective in my mind.

Greenleaf' is nothing like 'Empire.' I think 'Empire' stands alone in what they are doing. It's a wonderful show. The only thing that is similar though is that they are black families - the shows in it of themselves have very different dynamics.

Being from a family in church and being a Christian myself, I pray daily.

I was at a point of asking God whether acting was what He really wanted me to do. Oprah Winfrey came to one of my workshops, and a couple of months later, she reached out to Uncle BeBe, who co-wrote 'Born For This.' Oprah told him she was interested in me for the role of Charity on 'Greenleaf' and asked him to help her contact me.

To be able to be onstage and to hear people in the audience go, 'That's my song!' It's amazing.

I love the Lord. I did grow up in a gospel family.

I love my family's music because I love it. It's good. I listen to the Winans all the time. I listen to BeBe and CeCe. I listen to Angie and Debbie. I listen to Uncle Daniel. I listen to Phase 2, my two brothers and my two cousins. I think they're incredible.

I love acting since I was little girl. I went to school for it; that's all I worked on. That's all I prepared for.

I just entered the wonderful world of 40s, so anything anti-aging, I'm jumping on.

My Auntie CeCe - I can kind of joke and say all I need to do is pray. But that's literally what she does... She lives what she sings. I've learned a lot about her in that way, so in bringing her to the stage, I knew what sort of demeanor she needed to have. Her songs are very reflective of who she is in real life.

Greenleaf' is about family, but also about faith and failure and real human life.