Gabourey Sidibe

Bio:
Gabourey Sidibe (born on May 6, 1983 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York) is an American actress. Gabourey grew up in Harlem, attending Manhattan Community College, City College before graduating from Mercy College. After working as a receptionist at The Fresh Air Fund’s office, she quit to pursue a career in acting. Gabourey’s first role was her breakout. In 2009, she played Claireece “Precious” Jones, a 16-year-old mother of two in the film, Precious. Her performance earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress as well as an Academy Award nomination for the same. She followed up the role with appearances in films like Tower Heist, Seven Psychopaths and Top Five, with Chris Rock. Gabourey’s television career took off in 2010, when she played Andrea Jackson on The Big C. She was also cast as Queenie in American Horror Story: Coven, and as Becky Williams in the FOX hit drama, Empire. In 2015, Gabourey announced she would be writing her memoirs, to be released in 2017.

Best Known For:
Gabourey Sidibe is best known as an actress, starring in movies like Precious and in television series like Empire, The Big C and American Horror Story.

Personal Life:
Gabourey’s mother, Alice Tan Ridley, is an American R&B and gospel singer who appeared on the fifth season of America’s Got Talent. Her father, Ibnou Sidibe, is from Senegal and works as a cab driver. Her aunt is the noted feminist activist, Dorothy Pitman Hughes, who helped raise Gabourey as she grew up.