"Especially as a Black woman, I don't want to do anything half-a—ed."
She's an actress, author, activist, and entrepreneur … This is the Gabrielle Union story.
She's an actress, author, activist, and entrepreneur … This is the Gabrielle Union story.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00I was killing it, I'm booking this and this,
00:02but I'm like, I don't think I'm very good though.
00:04Or I know I could be a lot better.
00:06And especially as a black woman,
00:08I don't want to do anything half-assed.
00:10You've seen her in classics like Bring It On
00:12and Bad Boys 2.
00:12One, two, three, go!
00:14But Gabrielle Union's story starts long before
00:16she appeared on the big screen, in Omaha, Nebraska, 1972.
00:21Corn and Rays, Cornhusker.
00:22Anyone at any time can say, who are your people?
00:25Who you belong to?
00:27I would always say, oh, I'm Bunny Glass's granddaughter.
00:31And that meant something.
00:33Yeah, baby!
00:35She and her siblings were raised
00:36by a military sergeant father and a mother
00:38who worked as a phone company manager and social worker.
00:41You grew up in Nebraska as part of the biggest black family
00:46in the entire state.
00:48Now every year, you would have a huge family reunion.
00:52I believe we just had our 104th.
00:55From a young age, though she excelled academically
00:58and in sports, Union says she struggled with self-image,
01:01believing, quote,
01:02blonde was the ideal of beauty.
01:04And if I looked nothing like that, then I must be ugly.
01:07I started looking out for anyone
01:08who would tell me I was beautiful.
01:09I don't go, great, I'm smart, whatever.
01:11But somebody tell me I'm pretty.
01:14When Gabrielle was eight,
01:15the Union family packed their bags
01:16and landed in the Bay Area.
01:18She stayed in California for college,
01:20graduating from UCLA with a degree in sociology.
01:23My mom was like, yes, I've always raised you girls
01:27to have a world perspective and not a town perspective,
01:31but now I can show you more of the world
01:34and all the different communities.
01:36But sadly, her college years were less than idyllic.
01:39At 19, before starting her sophomore year,
01:42Union was assaulted and raped at gunpoint
01:44when she was working part-time in a Payless shoe store.
01:47She credits the Oprah Winfrey show for saving her life,
01:50saying in a 2006 interview,
01:52Luckily, Oprah had a show about what to do
01:55in case you were a victim of a violent crime.
01:57Immediately, I went on autopilot.
01:59It was like Oprah was in my ear
02:01telling me what to do to stay alive.
02:03Nikki, which is the name that my family and friends call me,
02:06I was Nikki when I was raped.
02:08So there's a part of Nikki that died that day.
02:13The loss of trust,
02:15the beginning of post-traumatic stress syndrome.
02:17Union successfully sued the company for gross negligence,
02:21accusing the store of failing to warn employees
02:23that the assailant had been positively identified
02:26after robbing another area Payless store.
02:28It can also be the most isolating crime.
02:31My goal has always been to not hear Me Too ever again.
02:34I mean, I hope I get that in my life, my lifetime.
02:37In her early 20s, Union turned her attention to acting,
02:41landing a string of appearances in shows including Moesha,
02:44Girl, you know, sort of perfect, like me.
02:46Sister, Sister.
02:47And that Walkman and all those cool tapes?
02:49Five finger discount all the way.
02:51And Friends.
02:52When the girl goes to the bathroom,
02:54you ate some of her food?
02:56You said the waiter ate my crab cake.
02:58Union later spoke about feeling mistreated
03:00and patronized by racial microaggressions
03:02on the set of the hit NBC series.
03:04Gabby, do you know what a mark is?
03:09Yeah.
03:11I'm an actor.
03:13Didn't have to audition for this job
03:14because I was just on a hit show on CBS.
03:18In parallel, she made her big screen debut
03:20in She's All That, followed by films like
03:23Love and Basketball and 10 Things I Hate About You.
03:25I know if you can be overwhelmed.
03:27You can be underwhelmed.
03:28But can you ever just be wound?
03:30I think you can in Europe.
03:32In 2000, Union got her biggest break yet,
03:35starring in the teen film Bring It On.
03:38I said, brr.
03:39It's cold in here.
03:41There must be some Toros.
03:42What's in the atlas here?
03:44Bitch, I know you didn't think a white girl made that up.
03:46She would later express disappointment
03:48in how she played the character.
03:49I was given full, full autonomy over this character.
03:53What I chose to do was to put a muzzle on her,
03:56to strip her of her humanity and her right
03:58to be angry at the harm caused.
04:01Next, she transitioned into more adult roles,
04:03becoming a leading lady in dramas
04:04like 2 Can Play That Game
04:08and Bad Boys 2.
04:10When?
04:10Tonight.
04:11Page me.
04:12Should I bring my thong?
04:14Her performance in 2005's Neo Ned,
04:17alongside Jeremy Renner, was met with critical acclaim.
04:20In this indie flick that got a lot of festival buzz,
04:22she plays an African-American woman
04:24with delusions that she is Hitler.
04:26How do you think Hitler'd activist soul
04:28was stuck inside of a black woman?
04:29Never one to limit herself,
04:31Union also made cameos in music videos
04:33like Busta Rhymes' 2006 hit, I Love My Bitch
04:36and Neo's chart-topper, Miss Independent.
04:39♪ You the way you shine, Miss Independent ♪
04:42In 2013, she landed the lead role
04:45in BET's Becoming Mary Jane,
04:47a series following the professional and personal life
04:50of a successful black female TV anchor.
04:53You're married.
04:54Don't.
04:55It ran for five seasons.
04:56I have a parade of penises on my show.
04:59She's thinking, like, I know we didn't take a second
05:01out on the house to send you to UCLA
05:03for all these penises to be on your show.
05:05Union became a published author in 2017
05:09with We're Going to Need More Wine,
05:10a collection of essays on personal stories
05:12and reflections on topics like sexuality,
05:15womanhood, friendship, race, marriage, and beauty.
05:17We started sending it to people
05:19and they started, you know, coming back with feedback
05:21like, so brave.
05:23And I was like, have I said too much?
05:26It was well-received and spent weeks
05:28atop the New York Times bestsellers list.
05:30Next, Union became a judge on season 14
05:33of America's Got Talent.
05:36But it didn't last long.
05:38Union ascribed the network's November 2019 decision
05:40not to renew her contract
05:42to her speaking out about racism on set.
05:44In May 2020, she filed a discrimination suit
05:47against the show's producers,
05:48citing racism and prejudice.
05:50Gabrielle, as an African-American female,
05:52often expresses herself and her culture through her hair.
05:55She was given a specific note many times
05:58throughout season 14 of America's Got Talent
06:00that her hair was too black,
06:01and that's a direct quote.
06:02Over the years, Union has also launched
06:04Union has also launched several businesses
06:06as an entrepreneur.
06:07Love and Blessings, a clothing line
06:09for full-figured women inspired by her sister,
06:12a wine vanilla pudding, and a hair care line
06:14for women with textured hair, Flawless.
06:16In addition to her activism against sexual assault,
06:19Union has long been a vocal advocate for racial justice.
06:22Do you know what happened to Breonna Taylor?
06:24And a proponent of therapy.
06:26Tisha Campbell paid for therapy for me.
06:29Wow.
06:29That was not covered by SAG insurance, by the way.
06:31Yeah.
06:32Do I want to lie to the people
06:33or do I want to share information and the resources
06:35and how I got out of darkness and into the light?
06:37Union has also been very candid about her personal journey,
06:40admitting to not valuing herself in relationships
06:43and to being a mean girl in her 20s.
06:45What positive happened in your life
06:47after you just tore that woman down?
06:49Other than you've just put out all this negativity
06:51in the world, and this woman whose power
06:53you want to take away, you've actually just empowered her.
06:56During his presidency, Barack Obama appointed Union
06:58to work with the National Advisory Committee
07:00for Violence Against Women.
07:02Alongside her husband, NBA legend Dwayne Wade,
07:05Union has been a boisterous voice for trans rights
07:08since her stepdaughter Zaya identified as trans,
07:10never failing to clap back at internet trolls.
07:13Dwayne, where you going?
07:14Too f***ing far, y'all.
07:15I'm 12 years old.
07:17None of us will have walked the road that she will travel.
07:21We will never abandon you.
07:22So far, so good, you know?
07:25Sorry, Boosie.
07:26They were honored with the President's Award
07:27at the 2023 NAACP Image Awards
07:30for their philanthropic work and activism
07:32for the LGBTQ plus community.
07:35Will we fight for some?
07:37Or will we fight for all of our people?
07:39Black trans people are being targeted, terrorized,
07:44and hunted in this country.
07:46She and Wade welcomed a daughter, Kavya,
07:48via surrogate in 2018.
07:50She became an internet hit with memes
07:52of her unbothered antics marked with the hashtag shady baby.
07:56Are you, is that, cause my breath stinks?
07:58Yeah.
07:59Union and Wade released Shady Baby,
08:01a children's book inspired by Kavya in 2021.
08:05Continuing her prolific career,
08:07Union returns to the big screen
08:08as the lead in The Perfect Fine.
08:11This affects my career, how I move through the world,
08:15how I'm respected, how I'm regarded.
08:17We filled this movie with love.
08:19I think something comes out of that love that's easy
08:22and that allows for the space to,
08:24for all of the possibilities and all the vulnerabilities
08:26and all the different textures and layers
08:28when everyone feels comfortable
08:30and they feel appreciated and seen.
08:31You are planning your own funeral.
08:32Oh yes.
08:33Okay.
08:34This is something. You have to.
08:34So I've chosen all of the sexiest photos.
08:37If I die at 88, I don't want to be 88 on the program.
08:40You give me, you give me my thirst trap.