Gabourey Sidibe
Biography
Life Story
Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe, the star of Precious (2009), was born in the Bedford-Stuyvesant community in Brooklyn, New York. Her mother, Alice Tan Ridley, is a former special education teacher who gave up her career and became a street performer/singer, while her father, Ibnou Sidibe, is a cab driver. Her mother is African-American and her father is Senegalese. Her parents split when she was a youngster and Gabby grew up in Harlem. Though she was cast in school plays as a child, Sidibe had no interest in acting. She had witnessed her mother's financial struggles as a street singer and wanted the security that an education and a desk job would give her. After attending local colleges, Gabby pursued a degree in psychology at Mercy College. She was in the middle of preparing for an exam when a friend phoned her about an audition for the newest effort from Lee Daniels, Precious (2009).
Instead of attending class, she ended up being cast in the title role as Claireece "Precious" Jones, a taciturn, sixteen year-old who is pregnant for the second time after being raped by her father and is also on the receiving end of constant physical abuse by her mother. As grim as the subject matter is, Precious (2009) has become critical success and a source of inspiration for many. While her co-stars, Mo'Nique and Mariah Carey have both received a great deal of critical attention, it is Gabby who is the revelation as Precious, a character whose personality is quite different from her own. Anyone expecting a damaged young woman with no self-esteem is in for a shock after meeting the charming Sidibe. She hopes that her success in the film will motivate others to chase their dreams.
Precious (2009) has opened other doors for Sidibe. She has also completed shooting Yelling to the Sky (2011), a project from the Sundance Lab that also stars Zoë Kravitz and has other projects in the works.
Family
No info available
Trivia
Has been a fan of the singing group 'N Sync since she was a teen and has attended 23 of their concerts.
Studied psychology at Mercy College, New York City.
Attended The City College of New York whose alumni include Edward G. Robinson Woody Allen, Ira Gershwin, Paddy Chayefsky, Stanley Kubrick, Eli Wallach among many others.
Attended the Borough of Manhattan Community College whose most famous alumnus is Queen Latifah.
Daughter of Alice Tan Ridley.
She and Adam Scarimbolo just signed with manager Jill Kaplan at Principal Entertainment.
Parents split when she was younger.
Her father is from Senegal. Her mother is African-American, and is originally from Georgia.
Is one of 10 African-American actresses to be nominated for the Best Actress Oscar. The others in chronological order are: Dorothy Dandridge, Diana Ross, Cicely Tyson, Diahann Carroll, Whoopi Goldberg, Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, Viola Davis, and Quvenzhané Wallis.
Is one of 17 actresses to have received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for a performance where they acted out a labor and/or birth; hers being for Precious (2009). The others in chronological order are Luise Rainer for The Good Earth (1937), Jane Wyman for Johnny Belinda (1948), Eleanor Parker for Caged (1950), Elizabeth Taylor for Raintree County (1957), Leslie Caron for The L-Shaped Room (1962), Shirley MacLaine for Irma la Douce (1963), Vanessa Redgrave for Isadora (1968), Geneviève Bujold for Anne of the Thousand Days (1969), Marsha Mason for Cinderella Liberty (1973), Ann-Margret for Tommy (1975), Ellen Burstyn for Same Time, Next Year (1978), Jessica Lange for Sweet Dreams (1985), Meryl Streep for A Cry in the Dark (1988), Samantha Morton for In America (2002), Ellen Page for Juno (2007), and Ruth Negga for Loving (2016).
She is a lifelong Democrat.
Personal Quotes
I learned to love myself, because I sleep with myself every night and I wake up with myself every morning, and if I don't like myself, there's no reason to even live the life. I love the way I look. I'm fine with it. And if my body changes, I'll be fine with that.
I don't know what it's like to be Precious, but--you know what?--she's not an alien to me. Not because she's a big girl. I've had to deal with difficult things in my life because of how I look. I have been made fun of for my dark skin by my older brother - he has lighter skin. In school the lighter-skinned or pretty girls would make fun of me. I don't know what it's like here or other places, but in the US it's definitely a big deal. Darker-skinned people sit at the back of the church, you know?
When I was younger, anything that went wrong was the end of the world. But as I've gotten older, I've learned to stop myself and say, 'Hey , babe, calm down. Tomorrow there will be sun.'
People are always like 'wow you are so strong,' but I think of it is my strength came from weakness in a lot of ways [...] because I just got so tired, it was like being beaten. That's what made me kind of start to stand up, for myself.
Well, today I get a lot of people telling me how beautiful I am and it is very strange from going from the only person who ever believed that, to hearing that on a constant basis. And I feel like it's not like a weird cockiness thing, but because I had to train myself to believe it and I really do believe it, but I had to work at it. So, it's hard for me to say 'thank you' in a lot of ways because, I always thought of it as secret that only I knew, 'only I know I'm beautiful, you don't know what you're talking about.' It's very strange and I have to accept it.
I am the only consistent person in my life and so I better like myself, and I better love myself. And I really better know that I'm as beautiful as anyone else.
