Grace Gealey Dishes About Education & Fighting Taraji P Henson: We had a blast.

She continues:

The most important thing I learned at university was to accept, embrace, and celebrate my individuality. Your uniqueness is your key. Much of the time we find ourselves ensnared in the trap of trying to shed the things that stand out and comprise our originality. In actuality, we should be commemorating these things in ourselves and others.

Dress: Stello By Stephanie Costello and Michael Costello

After deciding to pursue acting full-time, the opportunity to audition for Empire was presented to her and the whirlwind began from there.

I auditioned on tape on a Monday, then I was told on Tuesday that I had a screen test with Lee Daniels on Wednesday, waited patiently on Thursday, and got the call on Friday. My life turned into a completely different direction in the matter of a week and I have God to thank for that.

One of the most anticipated moments of the first season was when Grace’s character Anika and Cookie Lyon, who’s played by Taraji P. Henson finally fought during the finale after butting heads the thought out the season. She shared:

It’s something the audience had been waiting to see from the very first episode and to finally give that to them was great. We had a blast shooting the scene and I was psyched to even do some of the stunts, like reacting to Cookie’s punch and flipping onto the pool table!

By -@MsLindseyPaige