When I started out, it was rare to see elected representatives with foreign roots. Often, I was relegated to my origins, put in the diversity box: 'You're the new face of diversity.' That annoyed me because I always felt French, and suddenly I was being made to feel I wan't as French as others.
Najat Vallaud-Belkacem
Related I feel totally French - I don't feel half-French because of my dual nationality. For me, dual na... NAJAT VALLAUD-BELKACEM Are you taking us to the beach?" - Dan Cahill JUDE WATSON I went to Brown to be a French professor, and I didn't know what I was doing except that I loved... ANDRE LEON TALLEY It looks ancient," - Amy Cahill JUDE WATSON I'm a mother of a three-year-old, but when I started 'California,' my son wasn't eve... EDAN LEPUCKI It SMELLS ancient," - Dan Cahill JUDE WATSON Palm trees were fanned by a warm, light breeze, and they rolled down their windows to smell the sea. JUDE WATSON It's funny because I remember when I came to the U.S. with 'Swimming Pool,' the movie di... LUDIVINE SAGNIER When I was 18, I left Dublin and moved to Paris. I didn't speak French. I didn't know anyone... CAITRIONA BALFE When I was living in Paris in the '80s, I used to go out with an American model who couldn't... EDMUND WHITE While the books I read as a child lacked diversity in the strict sense, they didn't lack values.... JEWELL PARKER RHODES When I was a child, I grew up speaking French, I mean, in a French public school. So my first contac... J. M. G. LE CLEZIO I think when I first started cycling, it wasn't that popular with kids. I felt almost embarrasse... LAURA TROTT Iranians and Arabs aren't considered diversity because we still don't have minority status i... MAZ JOBRANI I remember hearing in first grade, 'Oh, why does she get to skip school?' It wasn't like... HAYDEN PANETTIERE I've never thought about any kind of prejudice about women in country music because I never felt... TAYLOR SWIFT I was very ambitious. It all started because my first boyfriend dumped me when I was 14. I'd alw... JANE MARCH I haven't always felt it was okay to read romance novels. When I was younger, it embarrassed me ... KAREN ROBARDS I think I was identified as a failed president because I wasn't re-elected. JIMMY CARTER I'd rather be thought as an international actress rather than a French one. Because I don't ... EVA GREEN I don't know French at all. I took some lessons when I was younger but all I know are the number... FREDDY ADU I'm 50% Asian actually, so yes I was born in Paris but I feel more international than French so ... BERENICE MARLOHE The English was really my mother, it was never me. Being the daughter of my father, I always felt ve... CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG In rowing, you're always striving for that perfect stroke, that repetition, each one being as go... BRYAN VOLPENHEIN When I was 12, I first made the decision to go vegetarian after a co-star's line 'I don'... RENEE OLSTEAD I learned my French through school. I was lucky in that the tutor on 'The Wonder Years' set ... DANICA MCKELLAR It was improv that really helped me start coming up with recipes and just believe in my instincts. T... AARTI SEQUEIRA When I was 20, I went to Paris and tried to meet French women. It didn't work. JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT It was weird. Like, people came up to me and knew me as Daredevil before any footage had come out. I... CHARLIE COX Racial humor was about 35% of my act when I first started. But I realized that it was a crutch. What... BILL COSBY I never see my movies. When they're on television, I click them away. Hollywood created an image... LOUIS JOURDAN When I was 14 years old, I was with my parents at a restaurant. Some people came in and said, 'W... NORA ARNEZEDER My first impression when I made it through was 'Good, because I'm going to prove to you that... NAIMA ADEDAPO Let's head out to the ruins." - Dan Cahill ROLAND SMITH I was always interested in French poetry sort of as a sideline to my own work, I was translating con... PAUL AUSTER Yes, I'm blonde. When I started as an actor, because of the accent and my body and my personalit... SOFIA VERGARA I was ecstatic they re-named 'French Fries' as 'Freedom Fries'. Grown men and women ... JOHNNY DEPP What I fell in love with as a child was 'My Fair Lady,' 'Funny Face,' 'American ... DIANNA AGRON I can tell you that you will have your hearts broken more by the people you love than by the people ... MARGARET PETERSON HADDIX When you're 5 ft. 5 in., have a round Jewish face and wear glasses and refuse to wear contacts, ... RICK MORANIS We spoke French at home and I didn't know any English until I went to school. My mother was Fren... JOANNE HARRIS I don't feel as if anything that has happened to me in my life was sidetracked because I was a w... JUDY SHEINDLIN When I found somebody who I fell in love with, it made me feel different than I felt the rest of the... LANA DEL REY For me, I want to see diversity in storytelling sources because we live in a very diverse society, a... LYNN SHELTON Comedy is really my passion. I started out way before television doing sketch comedy with other wome... AMANDA TAPPING I was being an artist, being sensitive and technical as artists are. I'm sure Leonardo Da Vinci ... ROY AYERS I always felt like I was a freak when I was growing up and that there was something wrong with me be... MADONNA CICCONE I don't get facials. The last time I got a facial was when I first started modeling when I was 1... CHANEL IMAN I just love France, I love French people, I love the French language, I love French food. I love the... OLGA KURYLENKO I actually go to the gym much more now than I did when I was on Buffy. I like to stay fit, because t... SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR As wild as I was, when the cops show up, and suddenly you're being handcuffed, it's so deepl... NATASHA LYONNE The thing is, when you see your old friends, you come face to face with yourself. I run into someone... POLLY BERGEN I'd had a French education for three years, my father being in the army. From 9 to 12, I went to... CHARLOTTE RAMPLING People didn't like me; I was loud and aggressive. People can take it from a 42-year-old, but whe... ARIEL LEVY I started playing Madden back in 1993 because that was the first year I actually made it into the ga... MICHAEL STRAHAN I don't think it's by accident that I was first attracted to translating two French women po... MARILYN HACKER I've always been slightly afraid of coming out with my record because it's so personal to me... DUFFY Being behind the camera is where I feel comfortable. I've found something that I feel I, as '... JOHNNY VEGAS When I was little, I wasn't allowed to put sugar on my breakfast cereal because it made me so hy... DAN O'BRIEN By high school, I was telling everyone, 'Oh, I'm going to be a doctor when I grow up,' b... AJA NAOMI KING I actually don't think there is any difference between French and American cuisine. French cuisi... DANIEL BOULUD I remember when Lindbergh arrived in Paris, I was one of the first persons to know about his landing... JOSEPHINE BAKER When I was in New York, the whole vibe was really just not matching with me. I was kind of super dep... GALLANT I had a period when I was sixteen where I started to get a big head. I was going through puberty, an... LEONARDO DICAPRIO For me, at the French Open, if I wasn't playing my match I was glued to CNN watching the events ... MICHAEL CHANG When I was young, a lot of things were closed off to me. I was always told, 'Don't do this, ... OMAR SY I feel God has sent me to Earth to sing. I started singing when I was five, but I don't think I&... LATA MANGESHKAR Implants were something I thought I wanted when I was younger, and now I don't. It was hard bein... HEATHER MORRIS I remember, when I was doing 'Nicholas Nickleby', James Archer came to see me at the interva... DAMIAN LEWIS When I was younger, I didn't want to come to WWE because I didn't fit into the mold. I could... BECKY LYNCH I think I felt at some point that I couldn't understand poetry or that it was beyond me or it di... NATASHA TRETHEWEY My way of remaining French was the financing scheme I used for Quest for Fire, with Fox funds, since... JEAN-JACQUES ANNAUD I didn't start drama school until I was 20, and I don't think I would have gotten nearly as ... BEN SCHNETZER My love for cooking began when I was young. Because my parents were in the army, they were both real... TIA MOWRY After Bush was elected in 2004 - please note that I didn't say 're-elected' - and I was ... BEN FOUNTAIN I love magazines. I always read 'Time,' 'Newsweek' and 'The Economist.' When... JANINE DI GIOVANNI When I got my very first phone call that I'd hit the 'New York Times' list, I had a smal... LISA GARDNER I'm so happy in the projects that I'm able to make, to be involved in projects like this. Th... JENNIFER CONNELLY My parents told me from the time I can remember that, 'Yeah, you're adopted. But this is you... COLIN KAEPERNICK I must say that when I left 'Doctor Who,' I was filled with... not loathing, but I was incre... CAROLE ANN FORD You can't reinvent the wheel. I remember when we first started out at 'Late Night,' we w... JIMMY FALLON It was different when I was young, aged 20, playing the French Open. I didn't have so much exper... ANA IVANOVIC The only time I felt I was different was when one of my friends said, 'I hate reading' and I... ADORA SVITAK Sometimes I felt as a writer I was purging, and it almost hurt to purge to that level. Now it doesn&... JILL SCOTT Then as I was wrestling as Terry Boulder. I was on a talk show with Lou Ferrigno, and I was actually... HULK HOGAN I started work on my first French history book in 1969; on 'Socialism in Provence' in 1974; ... TONY JUDT I actually didn't get to go to my prom. I left high school when I was 16 to join 'NSYNC. I f... LANCE BASS I realized that 'performing' was what I wanted to do when I did my first professional gig as... CATHERINE MARY STEWART I've always been shy, but I see that as a good thing because it kept me focused on music. When I... HUNTER HAYES While I was boxing professionally, I never thought about my looks. The furthest thing from my mind w... LAILA ALI When I was elected, I was the youngest member of the Tennessee congressional delegation; now, I'... BART GORDON It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut... NEIL ARMSTRONG I have always been a left-winger and an outsider. I loved being that. I was perfectly cheerful with ... MOLLY IVINS I was a bratty little sister. I was the youngest of three, and I often felt as though I didn't f... DOROTHY HAMILL I had just started ninth grade when I got my acne. And I had braces. I wouldn't look people in t... KENDALL JENNER People forget that there are villages and communities that are still speaking French all over Canada... MARC-ANDRE GRONDIN I don't think you can cry if the script is rubbish. I have to feel it; it's as simple as tha... OLIVIA COLMAN When I started studying acting in New York, I didn't plan to be an action hero. I just wanted to... DOLPH LUNDGREN I've realized how precious life is. When I was younger, I was more adventurous. I felt invincibl... KRISTI YAMAGUCHI I started writing songs when I was real young, when I was 3 years old. The piano spoke to me - I don... IAN AXEL
More Najat Vallaud-Belkacem
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