Gabrielle Monique Union (born October 29, 1972) is an American actress and former model. Among her notable roles is as the cheerleader opposite Kirsten Dunst in the film Bring It On. Union 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 starred with LL Cool J in Deliver Us from Eva in 2003.
Early life
Union was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1972, 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.[6] 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.
Union in February 2009
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".[7]
In 2008, Union appeared on Ugly Betty for 3 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.[8] 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.[9]
Current and upcoming projects
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.[10] 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.[11]
In 2012, Union was featured in the documentary Half the Sky: Turning
Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide premiering on PBS
October 1 and 2. The series profiles women and girls, along with the
organizations that support them, from developing countries who suffer
from atrocities, including rape, human sex trafficking and female
genital mutilation, and how they deal with these challenges. The Half
the Sky PBS TV series is produced by Show of Force along with Fugitive
Films.
Personal life
In 1992, at age 19, Union was attacked and raped[12]
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.[13] Union is an Ambassador in Susan G. Komen for the Cure's Circle of Promise.[14] She ran in the Global Race for the Cure in Washington D.C. on Saturday, June 2, 2012, in honor of her late friend Kristen Martinez, who lost her battle with breast cancer.[15]
On May 5, 2001, Union married football player Chris Howard; they divorced in 2006. Since 2007 she has been in a relationship with NBA basketball player Dwyane Wade.[16]
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 | Black Reel Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated |
| 2003 | Bring It On | MTV Awards | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2004 | Deliver Us From Eva | Black Reel Awards | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2004 | Deliver Us From Eva | Image Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture | Nominated |
| 2004 | Bad Boys II | Image Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture | Nominated |
| 2004 | Deliver Us From Eva | MTV Awards | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2005 | Deliver Us From Eva | MTV Awards | Best Actress | Nominated |
| 2005 | Breakin' All the Rules | Black Reel Awards]] | Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy | Nominated |
| 2005 | Something the Lord Made | Black Reel Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a TV Movie/Mini-Series | Nominated |
| 2005 | Breakin' All the Rules | Image Awards]] | Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture | Nominated |
| 2005 | Something the Lord Made | Image Awards | 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 | 2013 BET Awards | BET Awards | Best Actress | Nominated |
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