Gabrielle Union
She also had starring roles in the CBS medical drama series City of Angels (2000) and in the films Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), Neo Ned (2005), Cadillac Records (2008), Top Five (2014), Breaking In (2018), and The Perfect Find (2023). She has also co-starred in the films The Birth of a Nation (2016), Almost Christmas (2016), and Sleepless (2017).
In high school, Union was an all-star point guard in basketball and a year-round athlete, also playing in soccer and running track. She went on to the University of Nebraska before moving on to Cuesta College. She eventually transferred to UCLA and earned a degree in sociology. While studying there, she interned at the Judith Fontaine Modeling & Talent Agency to earn extra academic credits. Invited by the agency's owner, Judith Fontaine, she started working as a model to pay off college loans.
Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on TV sitcoms prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films She's All That and 10 Things I Hate About You. She rose to greater prominence the following year, after she landed her breakthrough role in the teen film Bring It On. Bring It On helped push her into the mainstream and she began gaining more exposure. She was cast in her first leading role in the 2003 film Deliver Us from Eva with rapper L.L. Cool J. In 2003, she landed the role of Will Smith's girlfriend/Martin Lawrence's sister Sydney Burnett in the film Bad Boys II, and she starred with Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx in the film Breakin' All the Rules in 2004. She then 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 Ned at the Palm Beach International Film Festival, and the film received awards at several festivals.
Outside of acting, she has written four books: two memoirs, titled We're Going to Need More Wine (2017) and You Got Anything Stronger? (2021), and two children's books, titled Welcome to the Party (2020), and Shady Baby (2021).
Filmography (123 Appearances)
Blame It on Rome
Perdita
Sorcerority
The Casket Girls
Forbidden Fruits
GOAT
Reading Rainbow
Number One on the Call Sheet
Riff Raff
We Got Time Today
Hollywood Black
Space Cadet
The Perfect Find
Gabrielle Union: My Journey to 50
Strange World
StoryBots: Answer Time
The Inspection
Sherri
The Jennifer Hudson Show
Cheaper by the Dozen
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder
Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes
CBS Mornings
The Drew Barrymore Show
Fearless
Sesame Street Elmo's Playdate: Scavenger Hunt
Truth Be Told
Tamron Hall
The Kelly Clarkson Show
A Black Lady Sketch Show
L.A.'s Finest
The Public
Desus & Mero
Red Table Talk
Breaking In
Steve
The Lion Guard: The Rise of Scar
Sleepless
Almost Christmas
The Birth of a Nation
The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar
The Lion Guard
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
The Late Late Show with James Corden
Hot Ones
With This Ring
Top Five
Think Like a Man Too
Late Night with Seth Meyers
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Being Mary Jane
The Door
Miss Dial
In Our Nature
Half the Sky
Think Like a Man
Good Deeds
NTSF:SD:SUV::
Conan
FlashForward
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Cadillac Records
Meet Dave
The Perfect Holiday
Life
Army Wives
Daddy's Little Girls
Constellation
The Box
Running with Scissors
Ugly Betty
Say Uncle
America's Got Talent
The Reichen Show
Night Stalker
The Honeymooners
Neo Ned
The Tony Danza Show
Something the Lord Made
Breakin' All the Rules
On Air with Ryan Seacrest
Hustle and Heat
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Bad Boys II
Pepsi Smash
Cradle 2 the Grave
Deliver Us from Eva
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Abandon
Welcome to Collinwood
The Proud Family
Two Can Play That Game
The Brothers
Bring It On
Love & Basketball
City of Angels
The Early Show
H.E. Double Hockey Sticks
The West Wing
Grown Ups
Teen Choice Awards
10 Things I Hate About You
Family Guy
She's All That
City Guys
The View
Smart Guy
Jungle Cubs
Clueless
7th Heaven
The Steve Harvey Show
The Daily Show
Moesha
Friends
ER
Sister, Sister
Dave's World
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Saved by the Bell: The New Class
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
People's Choice Awards