Biography - Gabrielle Union

Who is Gabrielle Union?

Gabrielle Union is an actress, producer, model, and host.

Gabrielle Union – Age, Parents, Siblings

Gabrielle Union was born on October 29, 1972, as Gabrielle Monique Union in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Her father Sylvester E. Union worked as a military sergeant while her mother Theresa (Glass) Union worked as a social worker as well as a phone company manager. 

She is not the only child of his parents and has two siblings, sisters named Kelly Union and Tracy Union, one younger and one older. 

According to Union, she was taught from a young age by her parents to be "an independent woman, standing on my own two feet, and that's the road I opted to take." Her mother had even taken her to a gay parade when she was eight years old. 

Education, Ethnicity

For education, she attended Foothill High School, graduating from the same in 1991. She went on to study at the University of Nebraska and later transferred to Cuesta College. Gabrielle Union finally settled to study at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Her ethnicity is African-American.

Gabrielle Union – Attack, Rape

In 1992, when she was 19 years old, she was attacked and raped by a robber while working part-time at a Payless store. She successfully sued the company over negligence as the store had failed to warn employees. The robber had already been identified as robbing another store before the attack and rape. 

She later shared that watching Oprah Winfrey’s talk show saved her life.

Also read: Ava DuVernay - Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Filmmaker

Gabrielle Union – Boyfriend, Husband, Children, Divorce

Union met Chris Howard, an NFL player in 1999 at a party. After dating for around two years, the couple married on May 5, 2001. But their marriage was short-lived. They divorced in 2006.

In 2009, she began a romantic relationship with Dwyane Wade, an NBA player. After dating for years, the couple married on August 30, 2014, in Miami, Florida. Wade has three children from previous relationships.

After eight miscarriages and three failed IVF treatments, the couple’s dream of having a baby dwindled. Thus, they opted for surrogacy.

Their daughter Kaavia James Union Wade was born on November 7, 2018.

Also read: Using a surrogate “felt like surrendering to failure” says actress and new mom Gabrielle Union!

Gabrielle Union – Career

Early Days

Gabrielle Union did not have formal education in acting. When in senior year at the University, she had a college internship at a modeling agency in Los Angeles. She thought this would be a great way to get extra credits. After the internship was completed, Union was asked to become a model for the agency as well.

This newfound job helped her pay off her student loans. The modeling continued until her agent found out that she could actually act. 

Also read: Selma Blair - Actress of Hellboy, Cruel Intentions 

Films, Series

Gabrielle Union first landed minor roles as an actress. She started her acting career in movies such as 10 Things I Hate About You, She's All That, and Love & Basketball. Appearances in  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Sister Sister, Smart Guy, 7th Heaven, Bring It On, and City of Angels followed her next.

Union landed her first lead role in Deliver Us from Eva (2003). The same year she starred alongside Will Smith in Bad Boys II. Already a well-known actress in Hollywood, she soon began to land a series of roles in both TV series as well as movies.

Gabrielle Union starred in Breakin' All the Rules alongside Jamie Fox, Neo Ned alongside Jeremy Renner, The Honeymooners alongside Cedric The Entertainer, and Daddy's Little Girls with Idris Elba (directed, written, and produced by Tyler Perry).

In addition, she has worked in Think Like a Man (2012),  Think Like a Man Too (2014), Top Five (2014), and Breaking In (2018) among numerous others. Currently, she is starring as lead Mary Jane Paul in Being Mary Jane. The series first aired in 2013. Since 2016 Gabrielle Union has lent her voice to The Lion Guard.

Books, AGT

Her book We're Going to Need More Wine: Stories That Are Funny, Complicated, and True was published in 2017.

In February 2019 it was announced that she and Julianne Hough would be replacing Mel B and Heidi Klum in the 14^th season of America’s Got Talent. Terry Crew, who also is the host of AGT: Champions will host the show.

However, just after a season at AGT both Hough and Union made controversial exits from the show.

Also read: Buzz Williams - Basketball coach 

Gabrielle Union – Awards, Nominations

For her acting, she has been nominated for eight BET Awards, three BET Comedy Awards, six Black Reel Awards, a Gold Derby Awards, eight NAACP Image Awards, etc.

Among all the nominations, she has won the Young Hollywood Awards (2001), Palm Beach International Film Festival (2006), NAACP Image Awards (2014), Black Reel Awards (2001), BET Comedy Awards (2004), and American Black Film Festival (2003).

Gabrielle Union – Net Worth, Salary

The net worth of Union is estimated at around $40 million while the figure for her annual salary is unknown.

Gabrielle Union – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

On Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, Gabrielle Union is followed by millions of followers.

Also read: Liza Colon-Zaya - Actress