The only surviving photo from her childhood is a kindergarten picture — a solemn image of a girl who, even at that young age, understood what it meant to have less than others. Today, she is not just a celebrated actress but also a voice for those who share her difficult beginnings.

Her childhood was marked by deprivation and hardship. With her parents barely scraping by on factory and stable jobs, the family of eight relied on food stamps, which often ran out before the month was over. Hunger was a constant companion, and school lunches were her only reliable meals.Their home was plagued by harsh winters, frozen pipes, and rats that swarmed at night. Despite these conditions, she refused to let her environment determine her future. Instead, she nurtured a dream of breaking free, using education and creativity to fuel her journey toward a brighter tomorrow.A Childhood of Unimaginable Hardship
She was born 59 years ago in a one-room shack on her grandmother’s farm in South Carolina, a property that had once been a plantation. Her family moved to Central Falls, Rhode Island, hoping for a better life, but poverty followed them.

They lived in a condemned building with no working plumbing, no heat during the winter, and a constant infestation of rats. Food insecurity defined much of her childhood. After the food stamps ran out, she and her siblings scavenged in garbage bins for food or stole from stores.At nine years old, she was caught stealing, and the shame stayed with her for years. “The store owner screamed at me to get out, looking at me like I was nothing,” she recalled. For years, school lunch was often her only reliable meal.

Rats were another grim reality of her childhood. They chewed through toys and sometimes leaped onto beds at night. To protect themselves, she and her siblings tied rags around their necks while they slept.next page…