Did you know that Gabrielle Union is a survivor? Her attacker was put into jail for 33 years. She is a soldier. Her story is below. Taken from wiki While in high school, she dated former NBA player Jason Kidd. In 1992, at age 19, Union was attacked and raped[14] 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.[15] Union is an Ambassador in Susan G. Komen for the Cures Circle of Promise.[16] 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 died from breast cancer.[17] Union admits to being a huge fan of Kimberly Elise.[18] Union met NFL player Chris Howard at a party in 1999. They married on May 5, 2001, and separated in October 2005.[19] The divorce was finalized in 2006.[citation needed] In 2009, Union began dating NBA player Dwyane Wade.[20][21] Union and Wade became engaged in December 2013.[22] Gabrielle Union was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on October 29, 1972. She was 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. Unions 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.[2][3][4] She was raised Catholic.[5] Career Union attended the University of Nebraska, where she played on the soccer team, before transferring to Cuesta College. She eventually transferred to UCLA and earned a degree in sociology with honors.[citation needed] While studying there in her senior year, she interned at the Judith Fontaine Modeling & Talent Agency to earn extra academic credits. Oftentimes during her internships, clients would ask after her and be disappointed that she was only a behind-the-scenes employee. The agents started to notice this; so, upon the end of her internship, Union was asked to become a client. Invited by the agencys owner, Judith Fontaine, Union agreed and started working as a model because she thought it would be an easy way to pay off her college loans. She modeled until her agent discovered she had a talent for acting.[6][1] Union started her acting career in minor roles. She landed her first audition (without any headshots) on Saved by the Bell. Other of her earlier roles included those in teen movies such as 10 Things I Hate About You and Love & Basketball. In 1997, Union appeared in the sixth-season episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Sons and Daughters as the Klingon NGaren. 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.[7] 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 LL 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.[citation needed] Union landed the role of Will Smiths characters 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 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 film Daddys Little Girls by Tyler Perry (released on Valentines Day). Before working with Perry, she went to see his stage show, which helped her understand him and his audience.[8] She also appeared in the 2007 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.[9] Moreover, although she often plays strong, opinionated characters, Union believes that Hollywood needs to recognize all shades of African-American beauty. In 2008, Union appeared on Ugly Betty for three episodes (36–38) as Renee, Wilhelmina Slaters (Vanessa L. Williams) sister and Daniel Meades (Eric Mabius) love interest. She also made a cameo appearance in the music video for Ne-Yos 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.[10] 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.[citation needed] In 2013, Union starred in Ava DuVernays short film The Door as part of Miu Mius Womens Tales campaign.[11] In 2012, she worked with Tyler Perry on the romantic comedy Good Deeds playing the role of Natalie, the soon to be wife of Perrys character Wesley Deeds.[12] She now appears in Steve Harveys 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.[13] In November 2013, she was a speaker and announced the award recipients at the ADLs Concert Against Hate. The event was held at the esteemed Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 16:41:36 +0000
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