Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade\u00a0(born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. She is known for her roles\u00a0in The Brothers (2001), Deliver Us from Eva\u00a0(2003),\u00a0Bad Boys II\u00a0(2003),\u00a0Daddy’s Little Girls\u00a0(2007),\u00a0Think Like a Man\u00a0(2012), Think Like a Man Too\u00a0(2014), and the remake of Cheaper by the Dozen (2022). She also starred as the lead in\u00a0the BET\u00a0drama series\u00a0Being Mary Jane\u00a0(2013-2019), for which she has received an NAACP Image Award, and in the crime series\u00a0L.A.’s Finest\u00a0(2019-2020) – a spinoff series for her character Syd in Bad Boys II..<\/p>\n
She also had starring roles in the\u00a0CBS\u00a0medical drama series\u00a0City of Angels\u00a0(2000) and in the films\u00a0Cradle 2 the Grave (2003),\u00a0Neo Ned\u00a0(2005),\u00a0Cadillac Records (2008), Top Five\u00a0(2014),\u00a0Breaking In\u00a0(2018), and\u00a0The Perfect Find\u00a0(2023). She has also co-starred in the films\u00a0The Birth of a Nation\u00a0(2016),\u00a0Almost Christmas\u00a0(2016), and Sleepless\u00a0(2017).<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on TV\u00a0sitcoms prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films\u00a0She’s All That\u00a0and\u00a010 Things I Hate About You. She rose to greater prominence the following year, after she landed her breakthrough role in the teen film\u00a0Bring 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.<\/p>\n
Outside of acting, she has written four books: two memoirs, titled\u00a0We’re Going to Need More Wine\u00a0(2017) and\u00a0You Got Anything Stronger?\u00a0(2021), and two children’s books, titled\u00a0Welcome to the Party\u00a0(2020), and\u00a0Shady Baby\u00a0(2021).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade\u00a0(born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. She is known for her roles\u00a0in The Brothers (2001), Deliver Us from Eva\u00a0(2003),\u00a0Bad Boys II\u00a0(2003),\u00a0Daddy’s Little Girls\u00a0(2007),\u00a0Think Like a Man\u00a0(2012), Think Like a Man Too\u00a0(2014), and the remake of Cheaper by the Dozen (2022). She also starred as the lead in\u00a0the BET\u00a0drama series\u00a0Being Mary Jane\u00a0(2013-2019), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-628","movie_engine_person","type-movie_engine_person","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n