Photo via CNN.com.

Those were the poignant and wise words uttered by Viola Davis tonight, who was resplendent in Marchesa as she shared the stage with the cast of her film The Help. Alongside her cast mates Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone, Sissy Spacek and the legendary Cicely Tyson, Viola Davis was gorgeous and glorious and spoke so eloquently for her cast and in celebration of the women who helped to inspire The Help.

It was a beautiful moment, and that capped off an epic night at the SAG Awards for The Help. It proved to be an extra special night for Viola Davis. When she won her individual prize for Best Actress, she offered words of inspiration to kids who currently attend the middle school and high school that she did in Rhode Island – “Dream big. And dream fierce.”

Photo via facebook.com/essence

Viola may have won the award for best dress of the night, BTW! She looked GORGEOUS!

Octavia Spencer was visibly, genuinely moved by her victory, which came early on in the awards ceremony. Spencer looked beautiful, elegant, and safe in her lilac/greige dress by Tadashi Shoji. I wanted to see a touch of boldness, a pop of color…but she looked lovely nevertheless!

Photo via facebook.com/essence

She first explained why this was an honor greater than herself by saying “these women represent our mothers and grandmothers. By honoring me, you’re honoring them.” She then dedicated her award to slain civil rights activist Medgar Evers, and to women like those she portrayed in the film: “…the downtrodden, the under-served, the underprivileged, the overtaxed — whether emotionally, physically, or financially.”

I haven’t yet seen The Help. I’ve avoided seeing the film in the wake of all of the controversy. But now I am in full on Academy Awards preparation mode, and predictions are already being made for Oscar victory for these incredible actresses. So I’ll be seeing it soon!

What do you think, bellas? Did you love or loathe The Help? How did you feel about the film? How do you feel about the amazing awards for the cast? Do you love Viola’s dress as much as I do??

As the star of such films as Love and Basketball, The Wood, The Best Man, Brown Sugar, Out of Time and most recently, Stephen Soderbergh’s Contagion — she began her acting career at Yale, performing in Shakespearean plays while attending the Yale School of Drama. Sanaa has been in top level productions on every level of acting. She’s done stellar work on television — in the early 90′s she cut her teeth on episodes of Moesha, Family Matters, and NYPD Blue, and now she’s the voice of Donna on The Cleveland Show. Her film career made her a household name for young black women like myself, who were looking for beauty icons to admire and be inspired by. On stage Sanaa has won major accolades for her performance in The Vagina Monologues and she won a Tony nomination for her work on Broadway in A Raisin In the Sun alongside Audra McDonald, Phylicia Rashad — and yes, Sean Combs.

Sanaa Lathan is a grown woman, an accomplished actress, and an established force to be reckoned with in Hollywood.

Sanaa Lathan is talented, beautiful, and inspiring. And now she is the new spokesperson for Pantene Pro-V Nature Fusion!

I interviewed the lovely actress about this new role that she describes as “a dream.” Listen in to hear Sanaa’s tips on keeping her natural hair safe despite Hollywood’s expectations, and her favorite products, tips, and recommendations when it comes to Pantene’s hair products!

In part 1, we discuss her favorite Pantene Pro-V Nature Fusion products, and her feelings on relaxed versus natural versus what I prefer to call “assisted hair” in her industry.

In part 2, we discuss her makeup and fragrance FAVES. Who knew Sanaa Lathan loved MAC’s Ruby Woo and Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume as much as I did??

You can follow Sanaa Lathan on Twitter @JustSanaa or join her Facebook fanpage right here.

Thanks to Pantene Pro-V Nature Fusion and to Sanaa for the opportunity! And THANKS to my new video editor Krystle of Kriss Did It for the AMAZING work!

I was visiting my homeland of Trinidad, soaking up the sun and sand and having a blast with my family and old friends. Even in the midst of that, there was Etta. “Hey, have you heard this Flo Rida song?” my brother asked. Good Feeling is on the radio what seems like every five minutes in Trinidad, yet not once did I hear a DJ mention that Etta James was the woman singing the hook.

Tough, tender, rough and sweet. Her music became the soundtrack to so many first dances. So many magical moments in so many lives, all unified by Etta’s rendition of At Last.

This song was played at my wedding, and I’m sure it was played at many of yours as well. There’s an honesty in her delivery. When she sings of the thrill she had never known, she lets us all feel that thrill as well. That was the gift Etta James had. She could make you FEEL her.

Etta didn’t write these songs – I’d Rather Go Blind was written by Ellington Jordan, but there’s nobody who could ever touch Etta’s version of it.

Where does soul come from? Where does the grit and the feeling of the blues comes from? Judging from the lives of many of the genre’s finest musicians, maybe it’s born from pain. Maybe the roughest parts of your upbringing add that resonance to a singer’s voice. One thing’s for sure, Etta James did not have an easy life.

From her birth until her death there was struggle and pain and hard times. And that struggle came right through her inimitable voice, regardless of what she was singing about.

Even a song like Something’s Got a Hold On Me resounded with tenacity.

Towards the end of her life, Etta was the center of rumors and all of them were sad. We knew she was ailing. We knew she was in the hospital. There was no confirmation of how aware or how present she was – there were reports of her suffering from dementia as well as leukemia. Etta held on as long as she could, and even though it is doubtless that her final days were awfully sad, she passed away surrounded by her family, and those who loved her, with all family feuds put to rest.

This post should have been written a week ago, but the feeling of loss remains as sharp to me now as it was last Friday. According to CNN, there will be a public viewing on Friday evening in Inglewood, California, and a private burial this Saturday morning. And Etta’s music will continue to stir up those feelings of loss and pain, even moreso than ever before.

RIP, Etta James. You will be missed by your fans around the world, but your music will never, ever be forgotten.

This post included some of my favorite Etta James songs. Which are your favorites?

Yesterday morning bright and early, the President of the Academy and actress Jennifer Lawrence shared the nominees for this year’s Academy Awards. In case you haven’t yet heard, here they are (via Jezebel)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Artist – Michel Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids – Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumulo
Margin Call – J.C. Chandor
Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen
A Separation – Asghar Farhadi

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Descendants – Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash
Hugo – John Logan and Brian Selznick
Ides of March – George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Beau Willimon
Moneyball – Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, and Stan Chervin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan

ANIMATED FEATURE
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Bullhead (Belgium)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran)

BEST ACTOR
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

BEST ACTRESS
Glenn Close, Alfred Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week

BEST DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorcese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Terence Malik, The Tree of Life

BEST PICTURE
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
Warhorse

A few things occurred to me as I saw the nominees.

1 — Boy oh boy do I need to see some movies with a quickness before the ceremony! Expect to read some film reviews right here on Afrobella.com, and soon.

2 — it would have been so wonderful to see the poignant and moving Pariah get a nod somewhere. Dee Rees for best director, Kim Wayans for supporting actress, or Adepero Oduye for best actress (alongside Meryl Streep who clearly is a fan). I see some Independent Spirit Awards in Pariah’s future but a nod from the Academy would have been so lovely. Review coming soon, but you can already tell how I feel. If you haven’t yet seen Pariah, go see Pariah! Click here to find a theater near you!

3 — I was pleasantly surprised by some of the nominees — Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumulo for Bridesmaids was an unexpected delight, and although I wish the nominees were for different roles, I’m delighted for Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer in The Help, and Rooney Mara for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I was surprised that Shame didn’t get any nominations, and that Leonardo di Caprio didn’t get a nod for his role in J. Edgar. But HOORAY for Gary Oldman getting his first ever Oscar nomination for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

Obviously I’ll be watching on February 26! Will you? Who would you like me to try to interview, and what would you like me to ask them? It’s getting closer and closer, and I’m SO EXCITED!!

Today, the USA celebrates the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the day after what would have been his birthday. Dr. King was assassinated 44 years ago, and in the sands of time it is easy to forget that Dr. King was a real person. A man with a beautiful wife and family. A man who became the public face of a movement. A man who tirelessly worked, marched, got arrested, spoke eloquently on the topics of peace, love, and justice — and ultimately gave his life to the cause of racial equality.

Thank you, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Without you, who knows where we would be today.

Click here to support TheKingCenter.org, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, founded by established in 1968 by Mrs. Coretta Scott King to protect and preserve her husband’s legacy.

And yes, I’m a bit nervous. There’s so much to consider about red carpet beauty. What if I get shiny? What if I get sweaty? What if it rains? We’re supposed to be out there looking fabulous no matter what! These are the kind of events where people get Botox in their armpits, just so they won’t sweat. How can I represent at the highest level?

I turned to my friend, the incredible Sam Fine, for his expert advice. At this point I feel like even if you’ve been living under a rock, you should have heard of Sam Fine – let me just tell you this. Sam Fine has blessed and beat the faces of just about every celebrity of color you can think of.

Photo via SamFineBeauty.

He includes Iman, Queen Latifah, Kerry Washington and Vanessa Williams amongst his most regular clients. He’s the creative director of Fashion Fair Cosmetics. AND he keeps it very real and very professional at all times. Sam is someone you can definitely call a red carpet expert. He broke it all the way down for me, and this is advice that can be helpful for anyone working a red carpet, worrying about their wedding day or prom or major event where photos a-plenty will be taken!

For me, I’ll be covering the red carpet, so that means I shouldn’t be AS fancy as those walking the red carpet, right? WRONG.

“The moment your foot touches the red carpet, you’re ON IT. You need to look the part. Every feature needs to be highlighted. You need to shine.” Sam has created some of the more iconic looks in previous years, including Mo’Nique at the Golden Globes the year of her victory, and Vanessa Williams performance of Colors of the Wind at the 68th annual Academy Awards.

Photo via XFinity.com.

“You want to look back and see how stunning that person looked. How timeless the makeup was. You don’t want to look back and say, oh that eye shadow was hot at the time.”

Don’t think for one second that every aspect of the makeup you see on Hollywood stars happened by accident. “Even a nude lip is carefully crafted. There’s base on the lip, a liner, a lipstick, then a gloss. Every feature needs to be well addressed. I’d compare red carpet to a wedding. It is a special moment when all eyes are on you. You need great foundation and powder. Perfect brows. Contouring. Give attention to each feature.”

And what about touch-ups? What if I get sweaty?

“It is an all-day event. NOT a time for moisturizer that’s going to make your makeup run later on. I prefer to use heavy coverage, but manipulate it in a way so it’s not one flat color. Think of using a stick or cream foundation, and set with loose powder. And people have heard that I used clear deodorant on Mo’Nique’s face to control the sweat issue.”

Photo via BlaqVixenBeauty.com.

Preparing for the red carpet sounds like a lot of work, and it is – but it’s best to start early and take your time.

“I take a full two hours to do Vanessa Williams, Mo’Nique, Iman. Because you want to feel secure. The time you spend getting ready earlier, is time you won’t have to worry about later. I take my TIME. Maybe you start four hours before. That way you can drink some champagne, tweet…and by the time you get I the car, you are READY to get in the CAR!”

Sam even dropped a few gems of advice regarding fashion. “Dressing for comfort is important. Don’t wear anything that can wrinkle or stain. You want to look fabulous all day!”

Talking with Sam made me feel a bit more ready for the big day, and I know no matter who does my face, I’ve got the advice I need to look as best as I can!

Sam Fine’s DVD is now for sale at Duane Reade, as well as MakeupMag.com. Click here to follow him on Facebook, and click here to follow him on Twitter. Thank you, Sam!!! For EVERYTHING!

What looks do you love on the red carpet?

If you perchance see me on public transportation in Chicago, staring wistfully out the window, I am most likely singing her duet No Room For Doubt in my head.

If you’re a regular reader of Soulbounce, you’ve probably been up on Lianne since last summer. But over here on the late bus, I’m only just now getting around to listening to her sumptuous free EP. I’m finally, truly intoxicated by her smoky sweet singing.

What do I love about Lianne La Havas? I’ll give you five things.

1. Her voice. It’s like an angel’s. And she’s even better live than in the studio. Look.

2. Her style. I always love a singer who defies genre. I am not even sure how to categorize what Lianne La Havas does, there’s elements of soul, rock, jazz,  folk…her sound is unique, and has a timeless quality.

3. Her HAIR, of course! Via her Facebook page, she describes herself as being “nothing like Corinne Bailey Rae or Andreya Triana, but we all have similar hair.” Similarly gorgeous and covetable, yes. Natural beauty for the win!

4. Her island background – I can’t help it! The Trini in me is just attracted to fellow island women. According to The Guardian, Lianne La Havas was born and raised in South London to a Greek father and a Jamaican mother. Will Lianne eventually do a more reggae inflected song? I can only hope!

5. The fact that she’ll inevitably tour the US (since she’s been taking the UK and Europe by storm, I assume as much).

Check out Lianne’s current tour dates here. To keep up with Lianne’s music as it’s uploaded online, subscribe to her YouTube channel.  And of course there’s her official site, her Facebook, and her Twitter. Her debut EP, Lost and Found, is available for sale on iTunes. Oh, and there’s that free EP you can download!

What do you think, bellas? Are you a new fan, like I am? Are you feeling Lianne La Havas? Thank you, Meagan Shea, for bringing her to my world!