Gabrielle is one of those actresses who we find very interesting, I guess that’s why she made the
StarSpread, besides she looks very hot in our spread. Here are some quick facts:
Birth Name : Gabrielle Monique Union
Birth Date : October 29, 1972
Birth Place : Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Spouse : Chris Howard (NFL player, 5-May-01 - Apr 2006)
Claim to fame : As Isis in "Bring It On" (2000)
She is an American actress, singer and former model. Among her notable roles is as the cheerleader opposite Kirsten Dunst in the film Bring it On. I really loved her in “Bring It On” she found her ground and was amazing.
Union also starred opposite Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in the blockbuster film Bad Boys II and played a medical doctor in the CBS drama series City of Angels. She also starred with LL Cool J and Meagan Good in Deliver Us from Eva in 2003, which aired on SABC1 in March of 2009.
Gabrielle Union originally intended to become a doctor in college. She attended the University of Nebraska before moving on to Cuesta College. She eventually transferred to UCLA and earned a degree in Sociology; while studying there, she interned at a modeling agency to earn extra academic credits.
She was asked by the agency to sign on with them as a new model. She needed money to pay off some college loans and debts, so she eventually agreed to become a fashion model
Union was cast in her first leading role in the 2003 film Deliver Us From Eva. The film received fair reviews from critics and it showed that Union was a leading lady. She then starred with Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx in the film Breakin' All the Rules in 2004.
In an interview with Art Nouveau Magazine, Union complained about the lack of roles for black actresses and actors in Hollywood:
"There used to be [roles] specifically written black, if you knew Denzel was doing a movie you knew his wife, girl or love interest was going to be black (but) that’s not necessarily the case anymore. You’re in that room with every amazingly talented actress of every hue, and it’s a dogfight, it’s hard".
I will agree with her. Increasignly, black actors and actresses are making inroads into mainstream Hollywood casting cycles and have started moving from the standard perception of playing second grade roles to more leading roles.
Spike Lee once called for black talent to stop focusing their efforts on becoming on-screen stars but begin to make in-roads as studio executives, producers as well as key network or studio executives to advance the presence of black actors and talent in Hollywood. Increasingly this is has taken effect and actors (across color lines) are fighting for the same roles. A perfect example is Will Smith and all his roles, 7 or 10years ago, there would never have been a studio to entrust their budget for a big studio blockbuster production to a black leading man. Yet today he is the most bankable movie star in the whole world.
In 1996-2007, Gabrielle appeared as Keesha Hamilton on 7th Heaven.In 2008, Union appeared on Ugly Betty for three episodes (36-38) as Renee, Wilhelmina Slater's (Vanessa L. Williams) sister and Daniel Meade's (Eric Mabius) love interest. She also made a cameo appearance in the music video for Ne-Yo's "Miss Independent"
She also posed nude for Allure magazine's annual naked spread in May 2008.
She had, along with Kelis, Erika Christensen, and Devon Aoki, stripped for art photographer Marc Baptiste's new book "Nudes", launched at a lavish party at New York's Milk Gallery May 31, 2007.
- She attended Foothill High School in Pleasanton, California
- University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska and Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, California
- She went on to earn a degree in sociology from University of California, Los Angeles
- She has had relationships with Jason Kidd (basketball star, Mar 2007) and Ludacris (rapper-actor, 2007)
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