Who is Gabrielle Monique Union?

Who is Gabrielle Monique Union? The entertainment and acting world knows her as Gabrielle Union, she is an American actress and former model. Among her notable roles is her performance of the cheerleader opposite Kirsten Dunst in the film Bring It On, (2000). In 2000, she played a medical doctor in the CBS drama series City of Angels. In 2003, Union starred opposite Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in the blockbuster film Bad Boys II. Also in 2003, she starred with LL Cool J in Deliver Us from Eva. In 2008, she featured in the film Cadillac Records with Adrien Brody, Beyoncé Knowles and Jeffrey Wright. In 2011, Union featured in an ensemble cast of the film version of Think Like a Man.

Early life

Union was born October 29, 1972  in Omaha, Nebraska, the middle child in a family of four daughters. She is the daughter of Theresa (née Glass), a former dancer, social worker, and phone company manager, and Sylvester C. Union, an AT&T manager and military sergeant. Union's early childhood years were spent as part of a rich African American community. Her large family had been in the Omaha area for many generations.^[1][2][3] She was raised Catholic.^[4] When Union was eight years old, she and her family moved to Pleasanton, California, where she grew up and attended Foothill High School. In high school, Union was an all-star point guard in basketball and a year-round athlete, also playing in soccer and ran track.

Career

Union 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 the Judith Fontaine Modeling & Talent Agency to earn extra academic credits. Invited by the agency's owner, Judith Fontaine, Union started working as a model to pay off college loans.^[5]
Union started her acting career in minor roles. Most were in teen movies such as 10 Things I Hate About You and Love and Basketball. In 1997, Union appeared in the sixth-season episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – "Sons and Daughters" as the Klingon N'Garen. She also appeared in Sister, Sister as Vanessa, in Smart Guy as Denise, and in five episodes of 7th Heaven as Keesha Hamilton.
In 2000, Union landed the role of Isis in the cheerleading movie Bring it On opposite Kirsten Dunst. Bring It On helped push Union into the mainstream and she began gaining more exposure. This led to Union being cast in the CBS television drama City of Angels as Dr. Courtney Ellis.
Union was cast in her first leading role in the 2003 film Deliver Us from Eva with rapper L.L. Cool J. This was her second time working with the rapper since making a cameo in his video "Paradise" in 2002. The film received fair reviews from critics and it showed that Union was a leading lady. Union landed the role of Will Smith's character's girlfriend Syd in the film Bad Boys II, a box office success grossing over $273 million worldwide. Union starred with Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx in the film Breakin' All the Rules in 2004.
Union starred in the short-lived 2005 ABC series Night Stalker. She has also starred in the independent drama films Neo Ned and Constellation, the latter of which was released to theaters. She won an award for Best Actress in Neo Ned at the Palm Beach International Film Festival, and the film received awards at several festivals.

She starred in the 2005 remake of The Honeymooners with comedian Cedric The Entertainer. In 2006, she starred as Busta Rhymes' love interest in the music video for Rhymes' "I Love My Chick". Union starred in the 2007 films Daddy's Little Girls by Tyler Perry (released on Valentine's Day) and the Christmas film The Perfect Holiday which opened on December 12.
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".^[6]
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 joined the cast of the U.S. television series Life on NBC and appeared in four episodes prior to the cancellation of series in May 2009.^[7] She appeared in the ABC series FlashForward alongside John Cho and Joseph Fiennes as Zoey Andata, a role for which she got nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. In 2013, Union starred in Ava DuVernay's short film The Door as part of Miu Miu's Women's Tales campaign.^[8]
In 2012, she worked with Tyler Perry on the romantic comedy Good Deeds playing the role of Natalie, the soon to be wife of Perry's character Wesley Deeds.^[9] She now appears in Steve Harvey's movie Think Like A Man, another romantic comedy which is based on his book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. The movie debuted at No. 1 during the weekend of April 20, 2012. In 2013, she began as the star of the BET network show Being Mary Jane.^[10]

Personal life

In 1992, at age 19, Union was attacked and raped^[11] at her part-time job in a shoe store. Her attacker later turned himself in and was sentenced to 33 years in prison. She has since become an advocate for survivors of assault.^[12] Union is an Ambassador in Susan G. Komen for the Cure's Circle of Promise.^[13] She ran in the Global Race for the Cure in Washington D.C. on Saturday, June 2, 2012, in honor of her late friend ^[14]

Chris Howard

Kristen Martinez, who lost her battle with breast cancer.
Union met football player Chris Howard at a party in 1999. They married on May 5, 2001, and separated in October 2005.^[15] The divorce was finalized in 2006. In 2009, Union began dating NBA player Dwyane Wade.^[16][17] Union and Wade became engaged in December 2013.^[18]

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role
1999	She's All That	Katie
1999	10 Things I Hate About You	Chastity
1999	H-E Double Hockey Sticks	Gabrielle
2000	Love & Basketball	Shawnee
2000	Bring It On	Isis
2001	The Brothers	Denise Johnson
2001	Two Can Play That Game	Conny Spalding
2002	Welcome to Collinwood	Michelle
2002	Abandon	Amanda Luttrell
2003	Deliver Us from Eva	Evangeline 'Eva' Dandrige
2003	Cradle 2 the Grave	Daria
2003	Bad Boys II	Syd
2004	Something the Lord Made	Clara Thomas
2004	Breakin' All the Rules	Nicky Callas
2005	Neo Ned	Rachael
2005	The Honeymooners	Alice Kramden
2005	Say Uncle	Elise Carter
2006	Running with Scissors	Dorothy
2007	Constellation	Carmel Boxer
2007	Daddy's Little Girls	Julia
2007	The Box	Det. Cris Romano
2007	The Perfect Holiday	Nancy
2008	Meet Dave	Number 3 – Cultural Officer
2008	Cadillac Records	Geneva Wade
2010	The Van Zandt Shakedown	TBA
2012	Good Deeds	Natalie
2012	Think Like a Man	Kristen
2012	In Our Nature	Vicki
2013	Miss Dial	Long Story Caller
2013	Being Mary Jane	Mary Jane Paul
2014	Think Like a Man Too	Kristen

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Family Matters	Mall girl (uncredited)	Episode: "Scenes from a Mall"
1995/96	Saved by the Bell: The New Class	Hilary / Jennifer	2 episodes
1996	Moesha	Ashli	Episode: "Friends"
1996	Malibu Shores	Shannon Everette	Episode: "The Competitive Edge"
1996	Goode Behavior	Tracy Monaghan	3 episodes
1996–99	7th Heaven	Keesha Hamilton	5 episodes
1997	Smart Guy	Lydia	Episode: "Don't Do That Thing You Do"
1997	Dave's World	Carly	Episode: "Oh Dad, Poor Dad"
1997	Hitz	Soul	Episode: "The Godfather: Not the Movie"
1997	Sister, Sister	Shawn / Vanessa	2 episodes
1997	City Guys	Katisha Grant	Episode: "The Date"
1997	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine	N'Garen	Episode: "Sons and Daughters"
1998	The Steve Harvey Show	Naomi Parson	Episode: "The He-Man, Player-Hater's Club"
1998/99	Clueless	Lydia / Rebecca	2 episodes
1999	Grown Ups	Felicia	Episode: "Pilot"
1999	H-E Double Hockey Sticks	Gabrielle	Movie
2000	ER	Tamara Davis	Episode: "Family Matters"
2000	The Others	Lindsay	Episode: "Theta"
2000	Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane	Lana	Episode: "Too Much Pressure"
2000	City of Angels	Dr. Courtney Ellis	11 episodes
2001	Close to Home	Gabby	Movie
2001	Friends	Kristen Leigh	Episode: "The One With The Cheap Wedding Dress"
2003	The Proud Family	Sunny Stevens / Iesha (voice)	Episode: "Hooray for Iesha"
2004	The West Wing	Meeshel Anders	Episode: "The Benign Prerogative"
2004	Something the Lord Made	Clara Thomas	Movie
2005	Family Guy	Shauna Parks (voice)	Episode: "Peter's Got Woods"
2005–06	Night Stalker	Perri Reed	10 episodes
2007	Football Wives	Chardonnay Lane	Movie
2008	Ugly Betty	Renee Slater	3 episodes
2009	Life	Jane Seever	4 episodes
2010	The BET Honors	Herself	Movie
2009–10	FlashForward	Zoey Andata	9 episodes
2010	Army Wives		Episode: "Murder in Charleston"
2011	NTSF:SD:SUV	Sandy Canyons	Episode: "Tijuana, We've Got a Problem"
2012	Half the Sky	Herself	Documentary
2013	Being Mary Jane	Mary Jane Paul	Movie

Awards and nominations

Year	Nominated work	Award	Category	Result
2001	Bring It On	Black Reel Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Won
2002	The Brothers			Nominated
2003	Bring It On	MTV Awards	Best Actress	Nominated
2004	Deliver Us From Eva	Black Reel Awards		Nominated
		Image Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture	Nominated
	Bad Boys II		Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture	Nominated
	Deliver Us From Eva	MTV Awards	Best Actress	Nominated
2005				Nominated
	Breakin' All the Rules	Black Reel Awards	Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy	Nominated
	Something the Lord Made		Best Supporting Actress in a TV Movie/Mini-Series	Nominated
	Breakin' All the Rules	Image Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture	Nominated
	Something the Lord Made		Outstanding Actress in a TV Movie/Mini-Series	Nominated
2009	Cadillac Records	Black Reel Awards	Best Ensemble	Won
2006	Neo Ned	Palm Beach International Film Festival	Best Actress	Won
2013	Think Like a Man	BET Awards		Nominated

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