Gabrielle Union
Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade (née Union; born October 29, 1972)[2] is an American actress. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on television sitcoms, prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films She's All That and 10 Things I Hate About You. She rose to greater prominence the following year, after she landed her breakthrough role in the teen film Bring It On.
Gabrielle Union
- Actress
- author
1993–present
1
Union is known for her performances in the romantic comedy films The Brothers (2001), Deliver Us from Eva (2003), Daddy's Little Girls (2007), Think Like a Man (2012) and Think Like a Man Too (2014). She also had starring roles in the CBS medical drama series City of Angels (2000) and in the films Bad Boys II (2003), Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), Neo Ned (2005), Cadillac Records (2008), Top Five (2014), Breaking In (2018), and The Perfect Find (2023). She has also co-starred in the films The Birth of a Nation (2016), Almost Christmas (2016) and Sleepless (2017).
Union starred as the lead characters in BET drama series Being Mary Jane (2013–2019), for which she has received an NAACP Image Award, and in the crime series L.A.'s Finest (2019–2020). Outside of acting, Union has written four books: two memoirs, titled We're Going to Need More Wine (2017) and You Got Anything Stronger? (2021), and two children's books, titled Welcome to the Party (2020) and Shady Baby (2021).
She has also been an outspoken advocate for issues involving women's health, LGBTQ+ equality, and violence against women, and was awarded the President's Award from the NAACP Image Awards, alongside her husband Dwyane Wade for their humanitarian efforts.[3] Union was included on Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020.[4]
Early life[edit]
Union was born on October 29, 1972, in Omaha, Nebraska, the daughter of Theresa (née Glass), a phone company manager and social worker, and Sylvester E. Union, a military sergeant.[5][6] She was raised Catholic.[7] During her childhood, she was taught to be "an independent woman, standing on my own two feet, and that's the road I opted to take."[8] According to Union, her mother taught her to have a "world perspective" and took her to a gay pride parade at the age of eight after the family moved to Pleasanton, California.[9] She attended Foothill High School[10] where she was a year-round student athlete, competing in Varsity soccer, track, and basketball.[11] Union dated fellow student Jason Kidd during her junior year.[12]
Union's parents divorced after 30 years of marriage. She said, "They handled their divorce and our subsequent transition into a blended family with grace, dignity and respect. They always put us first and didn't involve us. I'm lucky that I can just mirror what my parents did and always put the kids first. They're pretty awesome. I'm lucky."[13]
Union grew up with self-esteem issues relating to colorism, as one of the few African-American children in her environment.[14] When Union was younger, she believed that "blonde was the ideal of beauty, and if I looked nothing like that, then I must be ugly."[15] On her college football memories, Union reflected, "In my family if you couldn't talk Cornhusker football—that means knowing the Blackshirt defense, knowing the I-back formation—then you don't get to have an opinion. When I first toured the Nebraska campus and I saw Turner Gill walk, I freaked out. That was like the biggest star-struck moment I've probably ever had in my life. But it's because I grew up in a household that always talked specifically Cornhusker football and Big 8 sports at the time."[16]
During the summer before starting her sophomore year of college at UCLA, at the age of 19, Union was attacked and raped at gunpoint at her part-time job at a Payless shoe store by a robber.[17] Union has stated that she would not have survived the attack had it not been for lessons she learned by watching Oprah Winfrey's talk show.[18] She later successfully sued Payless for negligence, alleging that the store failed to warn employees about the assailant, who had been positively identified robbing another Payless location prior to when he raped her.[19]
Union has a bachelor's degree in sociology from UCLA.[20][21]
Career[edit]
Early roles[edit]
Union started her acting career with minor roles. Her first audition was for Saved by the Bell.[22] 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 Moesha as Ashli, Sister, Sister as Vanessa, in Smart Guy as Denise, and in five episodes of 7th Heaven as Keesha Hamilton. She also appeared on an episode of Friends, "The One with the Cheap Wedding Dress", as Kristen, a love interest to both Ross and Joey. Other earlier roles included teen movies such as She's All That and 10 Things I Hate About You.[22]
Other commercial projects[edit]
Union became a spokeswoman for Neutrogena in 2004. In 2010, she launched Love & Blessings, a clothing line for plus-sized women,[97] which was inspired by her full-figured sister.[98] In March 2014, Union released her first wine, Vanilla Puddin'.[99] That November, she became the first celebrity ambassador and creative advisor for the nail polish company SensatioNail.
In 2020, Union relaunched her haircare brand, Flawless, for women with textured hair. The collection is affordably priced and “empowers consumers to customize a regimen specific to their texture and style preference.”[100] That same year, she joined Bitsy's as a cofounder with “the goal of making allergen-friendly, school-safe snacks that are accessible and affordable for all families regardless of their socioeconomic or geographic status.”[100]
Union and her daughter Kaavia are a part of the ownership group of Angel City FC of the National Women's Soccer League.[101]
Personal life[edit]
Union met NFL player Chris Howard at a party in 1999. They married on May 5, 2001, and separated in October 2005.[130] The divorce was finalized in 2006.[131] Union said that when she got divorced she "sort of realized that she hadn't been making sound choices which were the best for her to pursue her hopes and dreams and aspirations and passions."[58] In a 2014 interview, Union stated that she may have rushed into the relationship for the wrong reasons, noting that, "In my 20s, I was all about getting the ring".[132] Union had earlier reflected that she spent much of the marriage "upset", and from the relationship she realized that the men in her life were "just human".[133]
In 2008, Union began dating NBA player Dwyane Wade.[134][135] They married on August 30, 2014, in Miami, Florida,[136] and she became a stepmother to his three children.[137] Union stated in an interview prior to the marriage that she and Wade would be signing a prenuptial agreement to protect their individual assets.[138] On November 7, 2018, they welcomed a daughter, Kaavia James Wade, who was born via surrogate.[139][140]