Gabourey Sidibe
{{short description|American actress (born 1983)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{pp-pc|small=yes}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Gabourey Sidibe
| image = Gabourey Sidibe at PaleyFest 2014 - 13491368805.jpg
| caption = Sidibe in 2014
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1983|5|6}}
| birth_place = New York City, U.S.
| alma_mater = Borough of Manhattan Community College
| occupation = Actress
| years active = 2009–present
| spouse = {{marriage|Brandon Frankel|2021}}
| parents = Alice Tan Ridley (mother)
| relatives = Dorothy Pitman Hughes (aunt)
| other_names = Gabby Sidibe
| children = 2
}}
Gabourey Sidibe ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|æ|b|ə|ˌ|r|eɪ|_|ˈ|s|ɪ|d|ɪ|ˌ|b|eɪ}} {{respell|GAB|ə|ray|_|SID|i|bay}}; born May 6, 1983){{cite magazine |url=http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/gabourey-sidibe/bio/299096/ |title=Gabourey Sidibe Biography |magazine=TV Guide |archive-date=July 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703010208/http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/gabourey-sidibe/bio/299096/}} is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the 2009 film Precious, a role that earned her the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead, in addition to nominations for the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other film roles include Tower Heist (2011), White Bird in a Blizzard (2014), Grimsby (2016), and Antebellum (2020).
From 2010 to 2013, she was a main cast member of the Showtime series The Big C. Sidibe co-starred in the television series American Horror Story arcs Coven (2013–2014) as Queenie and Freak Show (2014–2015) as Regina Ross, and later reprised her role as Queenie in Hotel (2015–2016) and Apocalypse (2018). From 2015 to 2020, she starred in the Fox musical drama series Empire as Becky Williams. Sidibe also provides the voice of Francis on the Disney Channel animated series StuGo (2025–present).
Early life
Sidibe was born in New York City in the Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn neighborhood, and was raised in Harlem.Stated on the Late Show with David Letterman, November 9, 2009. Her mother, Alice Tan Ridley, was an American R&B and gospel singer who appeared on the fifth season of America's Got Talent, on June 15, 2010. Her father, Ibnou Sidibe, is from Senegal and is a cab driver.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/nyregion/alice-tan-ridley-subway-singer-gets-the-spotlight-after-years-underground.html|title=After Years Underground, a Subway Singer Gets the Spotlight|last=Hartman|first=Susan|date=September 16, 2016|website=The New York Times|access-date=November 12, 2022|archive-date=June 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627235753/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/nyregion/alice-tan-ridley-subway-singer-gets-the-spotlight-after-years-underground.html|url-status=live}} Growing up, Sidibe lived with her aunt, feminist activist Dorothy Pitman Hughes.{{cite web |first=Stephanie |last=Marcus |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/02/gabourey-sidibe-confidence-speech_n_5255730.html |title=Gabourey Sidibe's Speech on Confidence is Incredibly Moving |work=HuffPost |date=May 2, 2014 |access-date=May 6, 2014 |archive-date=May 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505171416/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/02/gabourey-sidibe-confidence-speech_n_5255730.html? |url-status=live }} She holds an associate degree from Borough of Manhattan Community College and attended but did not graduate from City College of New York and Mercy College.{{cite web |url=http://movies.rightcelebrity.com/gabourey-sidibe-push/361 |title=Gabourey Sidibe profile |website=Right Cinema |access-date=May 16, 2010 |archive-date=December 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202230628/http://movies.rightcelebrity.com/gabourey-sidibe-push/361 |url-status=dead}} She worked at The Fresh Air Fund's office as a receptionist before pursuing an acting career.{{cite web |title=A Breath of Fresh Air |work=New York Social Diary |first=Susan |last=Sawyers |url=http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/node/1902592 |date=June 15, 2010 |access-date=November 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130822155826/http://newyorksocialdiary.com/node/1902592 |archive-date=August 22, 2013 |url-status=dead}}
Career
In Precious, Sidibe played the main character, Claireece "Precious" Jones, a 16-year-old mother of two (the result of Precious being raped by her father) who tries to escape abuse at the hands of her mother. The film won numerous awards, including two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Award.{{cite news |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/awards_festivals/news/e3ic96aa80f511fb30f9f4c59fc3dfe54cf |title='Push' takes Sundance grand jury award |work=The Hollywood Reporter |author=Zeitchik, Ed |date=January 24, 2009 |archive-date=January 30, 2009 |access-date=February 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130063228/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/awards_festivals/news/e3ic96aa80f511fb30f9f4c59fc3dfe54cf |url-status=live }} On December 15, 2009, she was nominated for a Golden Globe in the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Drama for her performance in Precious. The next month she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
Her next film, Yelling to the Sky, was a Sundance Lab project directed by Victoria Mahoney and starring Zoë Kravitz, in which she played Latonya Williams, a bully.{{citation |last=Yadegaran |first=Jessica |title=Gabourey Sidibe on being 'Precious' |work=Mercury News |date=November 12, 2009 |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/movies-dvd/ci_13763264 |access-date=November 15, 2009 |archive-date=April 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170429011618/https://www.mercurynews.com/2009/11/11/gabourey-sidibe-on-being-precious/ |url-status=live }} In 2011, Sidibe was in the film Tower Heist and voiced a character in "Hot Water", the first episode of season 7 of American Dad! She appeared in the season 8 American Dad! episode "Stanny Tendergrass" early in 2013, and starred in the music video for "Don't Stop (Color on the Walls)" by the indie pop band Foster the People. Sidibe also appeared in the Showtime network series The Big C as Andrea Jackson.
Sidibe said in 2012 that before she was hired for the 2009 film Precious, she was advised by Joan Cusack not to pursue the entertainment industry, advising Sidibe to quit the business since "it's so image-conscious."Sidibe in {{cite episode |title=Show Highlight: Bye, Bye, Bye Justin Timberlake |url=https://www.bravotv.com/watch-what-happens-live-with-andy-cohen/season-6/episode-71/videos/bye-bye-bye-justin-timberlake |access-date=November 25, 2020 |series=Watch What Happens Live |network=Bravo |date=April 25, 2012 |season=6 |number=71 |time=01:31 |quote=I know that she meant well. I met Joan Cusack, who is my favorite-favorite, ... and I was at some industry party and she says, 'Are you an actress?' And I said, 'Yeah.' And she says, 'Oh, honey, you should really quit the business — it's so image-conscious. And I think she really, really meant it in a good way. ... But I was, like, 'Oh, but I love you. Please don't tell me to quit my job!' |language=EN}} and as reported at {{cite news |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/26/gabourey-sidibe-joan-cusack-quit-watch_n_1457137.html |work=HuffPost |first=Kelly |last=Fisher |title=Gabourey Sidibe: Joan Cusack Told Me To Quit Show Business |date=April 26, 2012 |archive-date=November 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201125170734/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gabourey-sidibe-joan-cusack-quit-watch_n_1457137?guccounter=1 |url-status=live |access-date=April 27, 2012}}
By April 2013, Sidibe had joined the cast of American Horror Story season 3, portraying Queenie, a young witch.{{cite news |last=Keveney |first=Bill |title=Gabourey Sidibe joins 'American Horror Story: Coven' |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2013/04/29/gabourey-sidibe-joins-american-horror-story/2121711/ |access-date=May 2, 2013 |newspaper=USA Today |date=April 29, 2013 |archive-date=May 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502010918/http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/tv/2013/04/29/gabourey-sidibe-joins-american-horror-story/2121711/ |url-status=live }} She returned to the series for its fourth season, American Horror Story: Freak Show as a secretarial school student, Regina Ross.{{cite web |title='American Horror Story: Freak Show' adds Michael Chiklis; Emma Roberts and Gabourey Sidibe returning |website=Zap2it |url=http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/american_horror_story_freak_show_adds_michael_chiklis_emma_roberts_and_gabourey_sidibe_returning-2014-03 |access-date=June 21, 2014 |archive-date=January 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123050841/http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/american_horror_story_freak_show_adds_michael_chiklis_emma_roberts_and_gabourey_sidibe_returning-2014-03 |url-status=dead }} From 2015, she stars in Lee Daniels' Fox musical series Empire as Becky Williams alongside Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson. Sidibe portrays the head of A&R in the Empire company.{{cite web |title=Empire Close Up: Gabourey Sidibe as Becky Williams |url=http://www.fox.com/watch/378684483794/7684647168 |publisher=Fox |access-date=March 27, 2015 |archive-date=March 21, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321220553/http://www.fox.com/watch/378684483794/7684647168 |url-status=dead }} As of April 2015, Sidibe was promoted to a series regular in season 2.{{cite web |last1=Aussiello |first1=Michael |title=Empire Promotes Pair to Series Regular |url=http://tvline.com/2015/04/20/empire-season-2-tarhonda-jones-gabourey-sidibe-series-regulars/ |website=TVline |access-date=August 13, 2015 |date=April 12, 2015 |archive-date=May 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513000421/https://tvline.com/2015/04/20/empire-season-2-tarhonda-jones-gabourey-sidibe-series-regulars/ |url-status=dead }} She also starred in the Hulu series Difficult People as Denise.{{cite web |title=Gabourey Sidibe Talks Joining Billy Eichner and Julie Klausner in Their Hulu Comedy 'Difficult People' and Life Inside 'Empire' |url=https://www.yahoo.com/tv/gabourey-sidibe-difficult-people-empire-114447933735.html |first=Mandi |last=Bierly |publisher=Yahoo! |date=March 24, 2015 |access-date=August 13, 2015 |archive-date=June 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626154233/https://www.yahoo.com/tv/gabourey-sidibe-difficult-people-empire-114447933735.html |url-status=live }}
In 2015, publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announced Sidibe would be writing a memoir set to be published in 2017.{{cite magazine |title=Empire actress Gabourey Sidibe to publish memoir |url=http://www.ew.com/article/2015/06/03/empire-actress-gabourey-sidibe-publish-memoir-exclusive |first=Isabella |last=Biedenharn |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=August 13, 2015 |date=June 3, 2015}} On January 6, 2016, Sidibe appeared in the penultimate episode of American Horror Story: Hotel, reprising her Coven role as Queenie, marking her third season in the series. After sitting out subsequent seasons Roanoke and Cult, Sidibe returned to American Horror Story in 2018, appearing once again as her character Queenie in its eighth season, Apocalypse.
Personal life
In March 2017, Sidibe revealed that she had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and underwent laparoscopic bariatric surgery in an effort to manage her weight.{{cite web |url=http://people.com/celebrity/gabourey-sidibe-weight-loss-surgery/ |first=Jeff |last=Nelson |title=Gabourey Sidibe Opens Up About Weight-Loss Surgery for the First Time: 'I Love My Body Now' |work=People |date=March 8, 2017 |access-date=March 11, 2017 |archive-date=March 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312150829/http://people.com/celebrity/gabourey-sidibe-weight-loss-surgery/ |url-status=live }}
In November 2020, Sidibe announced her engagement to Brandon Frankel, a talent manager with Cameo.{{cite web |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CH_KeCfp0vy/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/CH_KeCfp0vy |archive-date=December 26, 2021 |url-access=registration |first=Gabourey |last=Sibide |publisher=Gabourey Sibide verified Instagram account |date=November 24, 2020 |access-date=November 25, 2020 |title=It's weird that people think we're already married [...] |quote=My BFF proposed and now I get to hold him forever.}}{{cbignore}}{{Cite magazine |title=Gabourey Sidibe Is Engaged to Brandon Frankel After More Than 1 Year of Dating |url=https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/pictures/gabourey-sidibe-is-engaged-to-boyfriend-brandon-frankel/ |first=Johnni |last=Macke |date=November 24, 2020 |access-date=November 25, 2020 |magazine=Us Weekly |archive-date=November 25, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125173207/https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/pictures/gabourey-sidibe-is-engaged-to-boyfriend-brandon-frankel/ |url-status=live |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |first=Alexandra |last=Schonfeld |date=May 11, 2022 |title=Gabourey Sidibe Wants a Nontraditional Wedding and Gown: 'I Definitely Don't Need a White Dress' |url=https://people.com/style/gabourey-sidibe-talks-wedding-to-finance-brandon-frankel/ |access-date=May 13, 2022 |website=People |language=en}} The couple married in March 2021.{{Cite news |title=Gabourey Sidibe Reveals She Married Fiancé Brandon Frankel Over a Year Ago: 'Surprise!' |language=en |work=Peoplemag |url=https://people.com/movies/gabourey-sidibe-married-brandon-frankel/ |access-date=December 5, 2022 |archive-date=December 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205174341/https://people.com/movies/gabourey-sidibe-married-brandon-frankel/ |url-status=live }}
In February 2024, Sidibe and her husband announced that she was pregnant with twins.{{cite web |last1=France |first1=Lisa Respers |title=Gabourey Sidibe is expecting twins |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/27/entertainment/gabourey-sidibe-pregnant-twins/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=February 28, 2024 |language=en |date=February 27, 2024 |archive-date=February 27, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227224444/https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/27/entertainment/gabourey-sidibe-pregnant-twins/index.html |url-status=live }} She announced the birth of the twins in June 2024, one boy and one girl.{{cite web|url=https://www.etonline.com/gabourey-sidibe-gives-birth-to-twins-with-husband-brandon-frankel-222215|title=Gabourey Sidibe gives birth to twins with husband Brandon Frankel|date=June 6, 2024|work=Entertainment Tonight|last=Pierre|first=Mekishana|access-date=June 6, 2024|archive-date=June 6, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240606191707/https://www.etonline.com/gabourey-sidibe-gives-birth-to-twins-with-husband-brandon-frankel-222215|url-status=live}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes | |||
| 2009 | Precious | Claireece Precious Jones | |
| rowspan="2"| 2011 | Yelling to the Sky | Latonya Williams | |
| Tower Heist | Odessa Montero | ||
| 2012 | Seven Psychopaths | Sharice | |
| rowspan="3"| 2014 | White Bird in a Blizzard | Beth | |
| Life Partners | Jen | ||
| Top Five | Herself | Cameo | |
| 2015 | Gravy | Winketta | |
| 2016 | Grimsby | Banu | |
| 2019 | Come as You Are | Sam | |
| 2020 | Antebellum | Dawn | |
| 2021 | Asking for It | Rudy |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes | |||
| 2010 | Saturday Night Live | Host | Episode: "Gabourey Sidibe/MGMT" |
| 2010–13 | The Big C | Andrea Jackson | 30 episodes |
| rowspan="2"| 2011 | Glenn Martin, DDS | Keisha | Voice, episode: "Date with Destiny" |
| rowspan="2" | American Dad! | Herself (live action cutaway appearance) | Episode: "Stanny Tendergrass" | |
| 2012 | Party girl | Voice, episode: "Hot Water" | |
| 2013–14 | American Horror Story: Coven | Queenie | 12 episodes |
| 2014 | American Horror Story: Freak Show | Regina Ross | 3 episodes |
| 2015–20 | Empire | Becky Williams | 90 episodes |
| 2015–17 | Difficult People | Denise | 12 episodes |
| rowspan="3"| 2016 | American Horror Story: Hotel | Queenie | Episode: "Battle Royale" |
| Brad Neely's Harg Nallin' Sclopio Peepio | Various | 10 episodes | |
| Drunk History | Ella Fitzgerald | Episode: "Legends" | |
| rowspan="2" | 2017 | BoJack Horseman | Tamera | Voice, episode: "The Old Sugarman Place" |
| Doc McStuffins | Hilary Mole | Voice, episode: "Toy Hospital: Mole Money, Mole Problems" | |
| 2018 | American Horror Story: Apocalypse | Queenie | 5 episodes |
| 2021 | Santa Inc. | Goldie | 8 episodes |
| rowspan="2"| 2022 | American Horror Stories | Jaslyn Taylor | Episode: "Aura" |
| All I Didn't Want for Christmas | Emily Harris | Television film | |
| 2023 | The Prank Panel | Herself | Host |
| rowspan="2" | 2025 | StuGo | Francis | Voice, main role |
| Give Me Back My Daughter
|Renee |Television film{{Cite web |date=April 2, 2025 |title=Give Me Back My Daughter |url=https://www.mylifetime.com/movies/give-me-back-my-daughter |work=Lifetime|access-date=May 11, 2025}} |
=Video games=
- High on Life (2023) – Mux{{Cite web |last=Romano |first=Sal |date=June 13, 2023 |title=High On Life DLC 'High On Knife' announced |url=https://www.gematsu.com/2023/06/high-on-life-dlc-high-on-knife-announced |website=Gematsu |access-date=June 14, 2023 |archive-date=June 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230614003157/https://www.gematsu.com/2023/06/high-on-life-dlc-high-on-knife-announced |url-status=live }}
=Music videos=
- Foster the People: "Don't Stop (Color on the Walls)" (2011)
- Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx: "(I Wanna) Channing All Over Your Tatum" (2014)
Bibliography
- {{cite book |title=This Is Just My Face: Try Not to Stare |first=Gabourey |last=Sidibe |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |isbn=978-0-544-78676-9 |date=2017}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Gabourey Sidibe}}
- {{IMDb name|2927229}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Gabourey Sidibe
|list =
{{Black Reel Award for Outstanding Actress}}
{{Black Reel Award for Outstanding Breakthrough Performance}}
{{Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress}}
{{Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress}}
{{IndependentSpiritBestFemaleLead 2000–2020}}
{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture}}
{{National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance}}
{{Satellite Award for Outstanding New Talent}}
{{Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Breakthrough Performance}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sidibe, Gabourey}}
Category:20th-century African-American actresses
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:21st-century African-American actresses
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:Actresses from Brooklyn
Category:Actresses from Manhattan
Category:American film actresses
Category:American people of Senegalese descent
Category:American television actresses
Category:American voice actresses
Category:Borough of Manhattan Community College alumni
Category:Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead winners
Category:Mercy University alumni
Category:People from Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
Category:Washington Irving High School (New York City) alumni