3 Gems We Learned from Issa Rae's Stunning ESSENCE Cover Story

The "Insecure" maven opens up about her rapid growth and transformation in the entertainment industry in ESSENCE's April issue.

Issa Rae's graceful cover of ESSENCE Magazine's April issue has truly made our day.

I mean, just feast your eyes on how breathtaking she looks (thanks to photographer Itaysha Jordan) with New Orleans as the perfect backdrop:

Four years ago, when all I had was a web series and a book, @Essence put me on my first cover with four incredible women I look up to: Ava, Mara, Shonda and Ms. Debbie. It was their "Game Changers" issue and I kept thinking, "I can't believe they chose me." That cover meant so much to me because it validated my work on a platform I respected AND it was a nurturing recognition of promise, a promise that I didn't necessarily see in myself at the time. Four years later -- entering the fourth season of my TV show, and shooting my fourth movie in New York -- they honored me with this solo cover. Thank you, Essence, for helping me to deliver on that promise you saw years ago, and changing the game for me. 📸: @itayshaphoto Hair: @lovingyourhair Face: @joannasimkin Fits: @jasonrembert

In her interview with ESSENCE, Issa opens up giving an introspective on how far she's come in her career—though with the success of Insecure and with shooting the upcoming romcom she's co-starring in, The Lovebirds, she's truly just getting started.

Here are three gems from her that stood out to us. Check out the full article here.

On focusing on what matters when navigating dating—her mind:

"I think a part of it just came from figuring out that the guys I like, I'm not their type. Learning that early on made me realize there's no point in valuing the physical, because it wasn't going to get me anywhere. So what can I control, and what can I bring to the table? How can I be valued in this way?"

On her legendary web series, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl:

"When you don't have much to do or you don't have plans on Friday night, you're making up a character who does. That was an outlet for me. I fantasized all the time about having a different life. And that manifested in creating characters and worlds and scenarios. I've definitely let my imagination run free."

On young girls who look like Issa now having someone to look up to in magazines:

"I just didn't imagine that [for myself]. So the fact that it happened is like, you just never f—ing know. And you should never discount anything. I think so many of us tend to be comfortable with what we're not and complacent with what we're not. You really don't have to be. I didn't solve world peace or anything—it's not like that. But something that felt so small and intangible ended up being tangible. And that's just the coolest thing in the world."