I think the serious roles impact people the most.

I was so lucky and blessed to have gotten 'White Chicks' so early into my career.

I remember being very young and going to AA meetings with my father in Brooklyn. I thought it was fun because they served hot chocolate and cookies.

My first big break was 'White Chicks.' I had only been acting for about two years and I certainly didn't feel like I was ready for such an opportunity. It could only be the hand of God blessing me. I accept everything I'm given with great appreciation.

It was the courts, of course, that took away prayer from our schools, that took away Bible reading from our schools. It's the courts that gave us same-sex marriage. So it is quite a battlefield, and the Supreme Court is the highest court in the land.

My upbringing was in the church. We had to attend regularly. And, of course, the church provided a training ground for me, so to speak, as a young vocalist and certainly gave me all of the spiritual values that I needed as a young lady.

But I understand the importance of being a brown, Muslim woman of faith who is in the public eye, because there aren’t that many of us."

We Catholics must admit that there is a constant temptation among us to avoid the lectionary and the Word of God for private and pious devotions that usually have little power to actually change us or call our ego assumptions into question.