# Gabourey Sidibe
**Gabourey Sidibe** (born 1983) is an American actress, director, and producer whose film debut as the title character of [Lee Daniels](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-daniels)' *[Precious](https://www.edgepedia.org/precious-film)* (2009) earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She is known on television for playing Queenie in Ryan Murphy's *American Horror Story* and Becky Williams on the Fox drama *Empire*, and she has since moved into directing and voice work.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1983, Brooklyn, New York; full birth name Gabourey Rene Riddley Sidibe[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2829737/) • [2](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne_gen_cpersonne%3D204979.html) |
| Breakout role | Claireece "Precious" Jones in *Precious* (2009), her first acting role[3](https://www.detpress.com/storage/uploads/42/99/42999239-73F9-6A2F-7ADA-882E15545FA6/StuGo_S1_Gabourey_Sidibe_Bio_2025.pdf) |
| Recognition | Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress for *Precious*[4](https://www.wbaa.org/npr-us-news/2013-01-31/gabourey-sidibe-from-precious-to-afropop) |
| Signature TV roles | Queenie in *American Horror Story* (first in *Coven*), Becky Williams on *Empire*[3](https://www.detpress.com/storage/uploads/42/99/42999239-73F9-6A2F-7ADA-882E15545FA6/StuGo_S1_Gabourey_Sidibe_Bio_2025.pdf) • [5](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-204979/filmographie/) |
| Directing | Short film *The Tale of Four* (2016); two *Empire* episodes (2019); Lifetime movie *Mary J. Blige Presents: Be Happy* (2026), her first feature as director[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2927229/) • [7](https://urbanhollywood411.com/gabourey-sidibe-steps-into-directing-be-happy/) |
| Memoir | *This Is Just My Face: Try Not to Stare* (2017)[8](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/this-is-just-my-face-by-gabourey-sidibe) |
| Family | Married Brandon Frankel in March 2021; twins Cooper and Maya born 2024[9](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-moms/news/gabourey-sidibe-does-not-want-her-kids-to-know-about-her-job/) |
## Early life
Sidibe was born in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Her mother, Alice Tan Ridley, was a special education teacher who left that career to work as a street performer and singer; her father, Ibnou Sidibe, is a cab driver[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2829737/). Her father was born in Senegal, and her first name Gabourey comes from him[10](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/jan/20/gabby-sidibe-precious). She grew up in Brooklyn and Harlem[11](https://www.broadstreetreview.com/articles/this-is-just-my-face-try-not-to-stare-by-gabourey-sidibe).
Before acting she was a college student pursuing a degree in psychology[3](https://www.detpress.com/storage/uploads/42/99/42999239-73F9-6A2F-7ADA-882E15545FA6/StuGo_S1_Gabourey_Sidibe_Bio_2025.pdf), and she later described herself as someone who had expected to work as a receptionist for the rest of her life[12](https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals/a-girl-named-precious-goes-from-nobody-to-the-toast-of-toronto). In her own account, a friend told her about the audition for *Precious*; she went reluctantly, skipping school to attend, and received a callback within an hour[13](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/gabourey-sidibe).
## Precious (2009)
*Precious*, an adaptation of [Sapphire](https://www.edgepedia.org/sapphire-author)'s 1996 novel *[Push](https://www.edgepedia.org/push-novel)*, cast Sidibe as Claireece "Precious" Jones, an illiterate, abused Harlem teenager pregnant by her father for a second time, who slowly learns to value herself with the help of a teacher and a social worker[14](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/precious-based-on-the-novel-push-by-sapphire-2009) • [15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/precious). Sidibe, then 26, had no acting background. Her theater teacher had entered her in the casting, and director Lee Daniels selected her from among 400 candidates[2](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne_gen_cpersonne%3D204979.html).
The performance made her an unexpected star. She received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress[4](https://www.wbaa.org/npr-us-news/2013-01-31/gabourey-sidibe-from-precious-to-afropop), and the film swept awards at that year's [Sundance Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/sundance-film-festival)[13](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/gabourey-sidibe). Critics emphasized the distance between the actress and the character: Roger Ebert, the longtime film critic of the *Chicago Sun-Times*, described her as "engaging, outgoing and 10 years older than her character" and noted that strangers mistook her for the role she played[14](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/precious-based-on-the-novel-push-by-sapphire-2009). Sidibe said she hoped her success would motivate others to chase their dreams[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2829737/).
## Television and film career
**Television.** Sidibe starred as the witch Queenie in *American Horror Story: Coven* and returned to the franchise many times, including five episodes of season 8 in 2018, an episode of the anthology *American Horror Stories* in 2022, and the thirteenth season[3](https://www.detpress.com/storage/uploads/42/99/42999239-73F9-6A2F-7ADA-882E15545FA6/StuGo_S1_Gabourey_Sidibe_Bio_2025.pdf) • [5](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-204979/filmographie/). She spent six seasons as Becky Williams, an executive assistant at the record company, on Lee Daniels' hip-hop drama *[Empire](https://www.edgepedia.org/empire-2015-tv-series)* from 2015 through 2019[5](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-204979/filmographie/). Her other series work includes Showtime's dramedy *The Big C* opposite [Laura Linney](https://www.edgepedia.org/laura-linney), Hulu's *Difficult People*, the animated comedy *Santa Inc.*, and the voice of Francis in Disney's animated series *[StuGo](https://www.edgepedia.org/stugo)*[3](https://www.detpress.com/storage/uploads/42/99/42999239-73F9-6A2F-7ADA-882E15545FA6/StuGo_S1_Gabourey_Sidibe_Bio_2025.pdf).
**Film.** Her screen credits after *Precious* include the heist comedy *Tower Heist* (2011) opposite [Ben Stiller](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-stiller) and [Eddie Murphy](https://www.edgepedia.org/eddie-murphy), Victoria Mahoney's *Yelling to the Sky* (2011), [Gregg Araki](https://www.edgepedia.org/gregg-araki)'s *White Bird in a Blizzard*, Sacha Baron Cohen's spy comedy *The Brothers Grimsby* (2016), and the horror film *Antebellum* (2020), which brought her an NAACP Image Award nomination[3](https://www.detpress.com/storage/uploads/42/99/42999239-73F9-6A2F-7ADA-882E15545FA6/StuGo_S1_Gabourey_Sidibe_Bio_2025.pdf). In 2025 she led the Lifetime drama *Give Me Back My Daughter* as Renee, a mother who loses custody of her daughter after an arrest[16](https://www.whattowatch.com/news/give-me-back-my-daughter-premieres-on-lifetime-tonight).
## Directing and writing
Sidibe has worked behind the camera as well. She directed the short film *The Tale of Four* in 2016 and two episodes of *Empire* in 2019[6](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2927229/). In 2026 she directed the Lifetime movie *Mary J. Blige Presents: Be Happy*, based on Blige's 1994 song and telling of a 50-year-old wife trying to reignite her marriage; Sidibe called the premiere experience of her first feature directing job "amazing"[7](https://urbanhollywood411.com/gabourey-sidibe-steps-into-directing-be-happy/).
Her memoir *This Is Just My Face: Try Not to Stare*, published in 2017, recounts her childhood with a polygamist father and a subway-singing mother, her work as a phone-sex operator, and her struggles with depression and eating disorders, along with her account of the road to *Precious*[8](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/this-is-just-my-face-by-gabourey-sidibe) • [17](https://blog.thefabulous.co/gabourey-sidibes-memoir-is-a-candid-lesson-in-self-confidence/). She has also spoken publicly about confidence and body image, describing at the Ms. Foundation for Women's Gloria Awards how she decided to take control of her own narrative[18](https://time.com/87214/gabourey-sidibe-amy-schumer-confidence-gloria-steinem/).
## Personal life
Sidibe married Brandon Frankel in March 2021, and the couple welcomed twins, Cooper and Maya, in 2024[9](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-moms/news/gabourey-sidibe-does-not-want-her-kids-to-know-about-her-job/). She has said she is too embarrassed and shy to tell the twins about her acting career for now[9](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-moms/news/gabourey-sidibe-does-not-want-her-kids-to-know-about-her-job/).
## References
1. [Gabourey Sidibe, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2829737/)
2. [Gabourey Sidibe, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne_gen_cpersonne%3D204979.html)
3. [Gabourey Sidibe biography, StuGo press materials (Disney)](https://www.detpress.com/storage/uploads/42/99/42999239-73F9-6A2F-7ADA-882E15545FA6/StuGo_S1_Gabourey_Sidibe_Bio_2025.pdf)
4. [Gabourey Sidibe, From 'Precious' To 'AfroPop', NPR via WBAA](https://www.wbaa.org/npr-us-news/2013-01-31/gabourey-sidibe-from-precious-to-afropop)
5. [Gabourey Sidibe : Filmographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-204979/filmographie/)
6. [Gabourey Sidibe, IMDb (credits)](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2927229/)
7. [Gabourey Sidibe Steps Into Directing With Lifetime's 'Be Happy', Urban Hollywood 411](https://urbanhollywood411.com/gabourey-sidibe-steps-into-directing-be-happy/)
8. [This is Just My Face by Gabourey Sidibe, review, The Skinny](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/books/book-reviews/this-is-just-my-face-by-gabourey-sidibe)
9. [Gabourey Sidibe Does Not Want Her Kids to Know About Her Job, Us Weekly](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-moms/news/gabourey-sidibe-does-not-want-her-kids-to-know-about-her-job/)
10. [Meet Gabby Sidibe, the star of Precious, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/jan/20/gabby-sidibe-precious)
11. ['This Is Just My Face: Try Not to Stare,' by Gabourey Sidibe, Broad Street Review](https://www.broadstreetreview.com/articles/this-is-just-my-face-try-not-to-stare-by-gabourey-sidibe)
12. [A girl named Precious goes from nobody to the toast of Toronto, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals/a-girl-named-precious-goes-from-nobody-to-the-toast-of-toronto)
13. [Gabourey Sidibe, Interview Magazine](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/gabourey-sidibe)
14. [Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, review, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/precious-based-on-the-novel-push-by-sapphire-2009)
15. [Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/precious)
16. [Gabourey Sidibe leads Lifetime's new drama Give Me Back My Daughter, WhatToWatch](https://www.whattowatch.com/news/give-me-back-my-daughter-premieres-on-lifetime-tonight)
17. [Gabourey Sidibe's Memoir is a Candid Lesson in Self-Confidence, The Fabulous](https://blog.thefabulous.co/gabourey-sidibes-memoir-is-a-candid-lesson-in-self-confidence/)
18. [Gabourey Sidibe and Amy Schumer Agree: You Make Your Own Confidence, Time](https://time.com/87214/gabourey-sidibe-amy-schumer-confidence-gloria-steinem/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Sh to So*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license