When I was little, my mother taught me how to use a fork and knife. The trouble is that Mother forget to teach me how to stop using them!
— Hattie McDaniel
The entire race is usually judged by the actions of one man or woman.
Playing the Mammy of Miss Leigh was just about the biggest thrill I've ever had.
In playing the part of Mammy, I tried to make her a living, breathing character, the way she appeared to me in the book.
I don't belong on this earth. I always feel out of place - like a visitor.
Faith is the black person's federal reserve system.
As for those grapefruit and buttermilk diets, I'll take roast chicken and dumplings.
I'm letting no man handle my bank account.
What is the thing that Hollywood demands most? Sincerity. No place in the world will pay such a high price for this admirable trait.
That's a powerful lucky rabbit's foot. I got the part in Gone With the Wind because of it. I got my Warner contract, thanks to it.
My desire for the part of Mammy was not dominated by selfishness for Hollywood has been good to me and I am grateful.
I've played everything but a harp.
I am loathe to get married again. I've been married enough; I just prefer to forget it.
Every actor and actress is possessed of the absorbing passion to create something distinctive and unique.
A woman's gifts will make room for her.
I did my best, and God did the rest.
We all respect sincerity in our friends and acquaintances, but Hollywood is willing to pay for it.
Putting a little time aside for clean fun and good humor is very necessary to relieve the tensions of our time.
It sure looks good to see an honest-to-goodness audience after looking at you all for so long from the silver screen.
I sincerely hope that I shall always be a credit to my race, and to the motion picture industry.
I always have the best of everything.
Bob Hope, Red Skelton, and Eddie Cantor... help us keep our balance.
You can best fight any existing evil from the inside.
