Alfre Woodard reminds women everywhere “Don’t forget yourself”

Mar 9, 2019

Actress Alfre Woodard returns to our screens in the lovable Netflix film Juanita and has an important message for women everywhere.

During a recent sit down with PEOPLE, Woodard opened up about the importance of women prioritizing themselves instead of placing everyone else above their own needs- a recurring theme seen in her latest film.

—Gayle King to Fox News: “All Black people don’t look alike”—

“We have a tendency to put ourselves last in order of taking care of things. I think women do that because we feel like, and we think, ‘We’ll be okay, we’ll manage.’ So we put ourselves last,” Woodard said. “[But] I hope young women and girl’s see [Juanita] and understand that it’s not being selfish. But when you’re putting your mate, your friend, whomever, making sure they’re taking care of, don’t forget yourself. Because you can’t give something to somebody you haven’t given yourself.”

Woodard then went on to detail more about her character Juanita, who stands at the forefront of the film.

“Juanita is a low person on the totem pole in American society. A working-class woman of color, but she still has a fantasy life- Blair Underwood. A working mama who can’t get a break!”

—R. Kelly seeks to reduce child support payments, claims issues with money—

The veteran actress stars in the dramatic-comedy alongside her on-screen love interests, Jess (played by actor Adam Beach) and fantasy love interest, Blair Underwood. In the movie, the 66-year-old actress plays a dependable, but tired mother and grandmother of three children and one granddaughter. Juanita, a low-wage nurse, has a son in jail, another in the streets, and her only daughter is constantly leaving her kids with Juanita in order to party. After finally getting fed up, Juanita decides to leave her old life, and lands in the small town of Paper Moon, Montana, where she rediscovers the joys of living for herself.

Juanita is now streaming on Netflix.