Smart Chick Of The Day: Nia Long Covers Monarch Magazine

The lovely Nia Long is gracing the summer issue of Monarch magazine. The actress turns 40 years old in a few months and sat down to reflect on her twenty-plus years in the business, as well as what she thinks the future holds for her and other black actresses.

Nia on why we haven’t seen on her the big screen lately: “Work has been slow for me. I think it’s been slow for everybody. But certainly it’s been slow for me, but there’s two reasons for that. One, is because I have no desire to repeat performances and to do the same things over and over again. I’ve been very careful and selective, and I also wanted to take this year to do some very personal growth. So I wanted to take time out for myself and really work on some personal things. Every now and then you have to take a step back and look at what you’ve accomplished, and when things slow down that’s when you really have to do the work. When you see actors and artists on the red carpet, you’re seeing the manifestation of something they worked really hard for. So if you don’t have the downtime to create and focus in on your next creative venture, you really become depleted.

Nia on how she stays grounded: “I think for me it’s just the way I live my life.” I live my life in a way where I just keep it simple. I don’t put a whole lot of extras on anything. I think you get to a certain point in your life where less is more. When you have less, you spend more attention on making things right, and making things sort of clear to people.”

Nia on motherhood: “I have a really busy life,” she says. “I have a nine-year-old son who is super busy with his activities and school, so he is my first priority. So when it comes to my work, I really like to cut to the chase and get the job done.” On inspiration, “You know, I would have to say my grandmother…she came to this country from a very small island called Granada.She spent years in Trinidad, and she was just such a hard worker…she could talk to me about everything from sex to having a conversation with the president…”

To read more you can pick Monarch, which is on newsstands now. The summer issue also features “Why Did I Get Married” co-stars Tasha Smith and Michael Jai White.