Gabrielle Union



Gabrielle Monique Union (born October 29, 1972)[citation needed]  is an American actress and former model. Among her notable roles is her performance of the cheerleader opposite Kirsten Dunst in the film Bring It On, (2000). In 2000, she played a medical doctor in the CBS drama series City of Angels. In 2003, Union starred opposite Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in the blockbuster film Bad Boys II. Also in 2003, she starred with LL Cool J in Deliver Us from Eva. In 2008, she featured in the film Cadillac Records with Adrien Brody, Beyoncé Knowles andJeffrey Wright. In 2012, Union featured in an ensemble cast of the film version of Think Like a Man.



Contents
[hide]  *1 Early life  ==Early life[edit] == 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. 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 running track.[citation needed] ==Career[edit] == 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 sociologywith 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 agency's 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 acitng.[5] <[6]
 * 2 Career
 * 3 Personal life
 * 3.1 Relationship controversy
 * 4 Filmography
 * 4.1 Film
 * 4.2 Television
 * 5 Awards and nominations
 * 6 References
 * 7 External links

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:1.5em;">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 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. She also appeared in Sister, Sister as Vanessa, in Smart Guy as Denise, and in five episodes of 7th Heaven as Keesha Hamilton.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:1.5em;">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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[7]  This led to Union being cast in the CBStelevision drama City of Angels as Dr. Courtney Ellis.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:1.5em;">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.<sup class="Template-Fact" style="line-height:1em;white-space:nowrap;">[citation needed]  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.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:1.5em;">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 Nedat the Palm Beach International Film Festival, and the film received awards at several festivals.

Union in February 2009<p style="line-height:1.5em;">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.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:1.5em;">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 knewDenzel 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".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[8]  Moreover, although she often plays strong, opinionated characters, Union believes that "Hollywood needs to recognize all shades of African-American beauty."

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:1.5em;">In 2008, Union appeared on Ugly Betty for three 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".

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:1.5em;">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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[9]  She appeared in the ABC series FlashForward alongsideJohn 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.<sup class="Template-Fact" style="line-height:1em;white-space:nowrap;">[citation needed]  In 2013, Union starred in Ava DuVernay's short film The Door as part of Miu Miu's Women's Tales campaign.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[10]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:1.5em;">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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[11]  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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-rbr_12-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[12]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:1.5em;">In November 2013, she was a speaker and announced the award recipients at the ADL's Concert Against Hate. The event was held at the esteemed Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. ==Personal life<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] == <p style="line-height:1.5em;">In 1992, at age 19, Union was attacked and raped<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[13]  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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[14]  Union is an Ambassador in Susan G. Komen for the Cure's Circle of Promise.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-autogenerated1_15-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[15]  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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-16" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[16]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:1.5em;">Union met NFL player Chris Howard at a party in 1999. They married on May 5, 2001, and separated in October 2005.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[17]  The divorce was finalized in 2006.<sup class="Template-Fact" style="line-height:1em;white-space:nowrap;">[citation needed]  In 2009, Union began dating NBA player Dwyane Wade.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[18] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-19" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[19] Union and Wade became engaged in December 2013.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[20] ===Relationship controversy<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === <p style="line-height:1.5em;">Wade admitted to fathering a son named Xavier Zechariah Wade (b. 2013) with longtime acquaintance Aja Metoyer during a temporary split from Union.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[21]  In an interview with Glamour magazine, Union blamed her career for the split with Wade. The two have since reconciled their relationship.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[22] ==Filmography<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] == ===Film<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === ===Television<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === ==Awards and nominations<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] ==