You know….I have an even greater respect for Gabrielle Union after hearing more of her story in this month’s issue of Vegas Magazine which the beauty is plastered on the cover of. It would seem that the 41 year old actress Ms. Union has it all. Beauty, brains, and a bonafide career. What more could a gal ask for? In this month’s issue, Union opens up to Vegas giving readers a glimpse of some of the demons she overcame to be where she is, showing us all just because you look like the cover of a magazine, doesn’t always make for a picture perfect life. Read more about the fearless diva inside.
The beauty has come along way, just ask her. Here are some excerpts from her interview for the May/June issue of Vegas Magazine.
Union on feeling like an outsider when growing up in Plesanton California
“My dad told me, ‘You gotta be bigger and badder and better than the next woman, just to be considered even.’” As one of just a handful of African American girls at her high school in Pleasanton, California, she grew up feeling isolated. “I felt like I had to become a chameleon,” she says, acting one way with her white friends and another for people in her community. “Even as a popular girl, I was always looking through the window and very afraid of being exposed. I just wanted to assimilate and fit in.”
On strong women who impacted and shaped her for the beter
Gabrielle Union really cultivated her voice and call to action after the passing of a great high school friend of hers, Kristin Martinez(AKA Sookie) died at the age of 32 from metastatic breast cancer. “At the end, Sook turned to me and whispered, ‘Don’t let my death be in vain. I’m passing the baton. Don’t drop it, bitch.’” Union made a vow then that she never would, and today she is a Circle Of Promise national ambassador for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and spends her time speaking on the epidemic across the globe.
On changing her mean girl persona in Hollywood
“We live in a town that rewards pretending,” Union said. “I used to revel in gossip and rumors. I lived for the negativity inflicted upon my sister actresses, or anyone whose shine I felt diminished my own. I took joy in people’s pain, and I tap-danced on their misery.” In interview Union talks about working with life coach AJ Johnson in effort to find her authentic self, and what made her happy instead of being validated through the pain of others.
Really great interview! To see interview in full, head here
