The life of Gabrielle Union

Brut America

"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.

Transcript

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.

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