Gabrielle Union
Gabrielle Union
Biography
Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade (born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in The Brothers (2001), Deliver Us from Eva (2003), Bad Boys II (2003), Daddy's Little Girls (2007), Think Like a Man (2012), Think Like a Man Too (2014), and the remake of Cheaper by the Dozen (2022). She also starred as the lead in the 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) - a spinoff series for her character Syd in Bad Boys II.. She also had starring roles in the CBS medical drama series City of Angels (2000) and in the films 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). In high school, Union was an all-star point guard in basketball and a year-round athlete, also playing in soccer and running track. She went on to 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, she started working as a model to pay off college loans. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on TV 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. Bring It On helped push her into the mainstream and she began gaining more exposure. She was cast in her first leading role in the 2003 film Deliver Us from Eva with rapper L.L. Cool J. In 2003, she landed the role of Will Smith's girlfriend/Martin Lawrence's sister Sydney Burnett in the film Bad Boys II, and she starred with Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx in the film Breakin' All the Rules in 2004. She then 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. Outside of acting, she 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).
Known For
Actor
as Detective Shay Williams
as Sandy
as Pam Proctor
as Jenna Jones
as Self
as Meridian Clade (voice)
as Inez French
as Zoey Baker
as Self
as Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey
as Self
as General Blazerhatch (voice)
as Self
as Eva Pierre
as Self - Guest
as Gabrielle Union
as Syd Burnett
as Self - Illustrious Guest
as Shaun Russell
as Self
as Nala (voice)
as Dena
as Rachel
as Esther
as Nala (voice)
as Nala (voice)
as Kitty
as Self
as Erica Long
as Kristen
as Self
as She
as Long Story Caller
as Mary Jane Paul
as Vicky
as Kristen
as Natalie
as Sandy Canyons
as Self
as Zoey Andata
as Self - Guest
as Geneva Wade
as No. 3 - Cultural Officer
as Nancy
as Julia Rossmore
as Carmel Boxer
as Cris Romano
as Jane Seever
as Dorothy
as Elise Carter
as Renee Slater
as Self - Judge
as Alice Kramden
as Rachael
as Self
as Perri Reed
as Clara Thomas
as Nikki
as Self
as Self
as Masked Woman
as Syd
as Daria
as Eva Dandrige
as Self
as Amanda Luttrell
as Michelle
as Conny Spalding
as Denise Johnson
as Sunny Stevens / Iesha (voice)
as Isis
as Shawnee
as Courtney Ellis
as Gabrielle
as Chastity
as Katie
as Self
as Meeshel Anders
as Shauna Parks (voice)
as Self - Guest
as Keesha Hamilton
as Tracy Monaghan
as Naomi Parson
as Self
as Kirsten Lang
as Tamara Davis
as Vanessa
as Carly
as Self - Guest
as Hilary
as Jennifer
as N'Garen
as Self - Guest
Producer
as Executive Producer
as Producer
as Producer
as Executive Producer
as Executive Producer
as Associate Producer
as Executive Producer
as Producer
as Executive Producer
as Executive Producer