Gabrielle Union Quotes

1. Within a lot of African-American households, I think, there's an idea that black men don't want to take an active participation in the lives of their children. That if they do, there has to be some sort of ulterior motive.


2. (on Halle Berry's success) Halle's success has come more from blockbusters. But, yes, she is a source of inspiration. When she makes money, black actors make money.

3. I've always had an interest in sports across the board.




4. I have no problem with that! I'd rather be that than Quasimodo. Or a method actor.

5. You come to work and you laugh all day, you go home and you feel light and there's a certain feeling when you're sitting with the audience and they leave after 90 minutes and it's just pure escapism and they're happy.

6. I don't get enough sleep so I always have under eye bags.


7. I'm the kind of person whose clothes are all hung up and color-coordinated, to the point where my whites don't touch my creams.

8. When you want a break from dogs, and you take them to the kennel to the stars, no one thinks you're a bad pet owner. But when you have kids, you can't drop them off for three weeks without someone calling Child Protective Services!

9. We give a lot of others significance in our lives even when they don't deserve it. It doesn't matter if they're family or if you've known them forever. If they're not good for you, they've got to go.


10. I still hear things like "Gabrielle, you gave the best read! If we decide to go black, you're at the top of the list." I've actually been told: "Gabrielle, you're absolutely perfect for the role, but the role is a girl who's most popular in school." I've been to the point where I brought in my yearbook. "See how popular I was? It really can happen."

11. Sometimes it's not even a role that's specifically written for a woman. It could be a role written for a white man or Asian man, or Latino. If it's something that I feel I could do well, I go after it. Especially if it's nothing that has to be gender or race specific, I'm all over it.

12. If my real life was half as exciting as what is reported, I would be thrilled.

13. I don't function well in chaos, whether it be my sheets or the dishwasher.

14. In Hollywood, marriages are kind of expected to fail.

15. If someone lacked decency or respect, I didn't allow that person to stay in my world.

16. In Hollywood, you play a mom and instantly, you've got osteoporosis.

17. I drink a gallon of water a day.





18. There's an inherent idea that if a Black executive producer and a Black director are going to do a movie based on a Black writer's book that everybody is going to be Black.

19. In Hollywood, you play a mom, and the next thing you know, you're on "The Golden Girls." They age you so fast.

20. Right now, I don't have the same urges as other women when they see a baby. When I see children, I see responsibilities, which I don't think I'm quite ready for. I feel the same about puppies. They're cute for a second, but there's a lot of responsibility involved.

21. We all have to let go of the Prince Charming complex and realize he doesn't necessarily exist in the package we assume he'll come in.


22. My friends are very opinionated about the people I date.

23. I like directors who have worked as actors. They know the experience.

24. My mom is painfully sweet; she's from Nebraska.


25. Boys are so much drama.

26. Reality TV looks more like America than movies do.

27. Just like I find men who talk sports who don't really know sports annoying, I think men might find women who don't really have a true passion and knowledge of sports maybe not so attractive.

28. I just kind of assumed that you do a movie and then you leave and you hop onto the next thing. I never thought that people are actually buddies.




29. People think that celebs make a lot more money than we do. We look for bargains and we do a lot of stuff on our own.

30. In my career, there have been roles I haven't taken because someone involved with the project gave me a bad vibe. I don't care how much money is on the table: No job is worth feeling uneasy every day.

31. When someone who loves and cares about me compliments me, I feel more glamorous than when the flashbulbs are going off on the red carpet.

32. The guys I tended to date, you know, didn't necessarily have it altogether but I had a great time.






33. I'm just riding this train as long as I can. As long as I'm having fun, I'll do it. When it stops being fun, I'll try something else. Maybe I'll open up a chain of Popeye's Chicken.

34. I like meat and carbohydrates.


35. The black community in Hollywood is very small and close-knit. Everyone has a common goal: to make a two-hour movie in 30 days.

36. I want to be Miss USA or Miss America. I would bring the trophy back to Nebraska. My interests are agriculture and corn. Hey, I'm just riding this train as long as I can. As long as I'm having fun, I'll do it. When it stops being fun, I'll try something else.

37. I've been trying to get cast as a lesbian for years.


38. There's no such thing as a healthy tan, and that's what people need to understand.

39. I love horses.

40. You have to be resilient.

41. I've dated a number of "mama's boys."


42. You have to develop a very thick skin.

43. I love TV. I love the stability of it.

44. I think there's a lot of things that occur within the African-American community, that we would prefer to stay within the African-American community - that we get a little nervous when you start having scenes or dialogue that we know is going to be viewed and heard on a national or global scale.

45. We don't consider black, urban films as "indies," though many of them are shot for under $10 million which is kind of the definition of an indie.



46. I'm not going to change the world overnight. It's one person at a time, and hopefully they're people in positions of power who can help people get in those roles and really, truly embrace colorblind casting.

47. (on her strip scene in Cradle 2 the Grave) I'm a Catholic girl from Omaha, and then all of a sudden they spring this scene on me. Afterwards I had to go to confession. I said "Forgive me Father, for I have just bared my ass in front of the world. How many Hail Marys will it take to absolve me of that!" 

 48. You want to come home to a nice firm bed with the corners tucked in so you start over, like each night is like a new night.





49. I think I'm drawn to more villain-type characters, because it's so cool to get to say all the things you want to say. In Hollywood, you get to this position where you have to bite your tongue so much. You take all your experiences of not being able to say what you really want to say, and channel that through your character.

50. I realized I had been keeping people around even when deep down I knew they were bad for me. I had overridden myself.




51. A lot of women seem to think the way to ingratiate themselves is to put down other women or backstab. That's the quickest way to be eliminated from my life - try that with me, and you're out.

52. I love romantic comedies. They're for me the easiest thing to do and the most natural to do. There's nothing natural about holding an uzi hanging out of a moving van shooting at people. That's not second nature to me, thank God.

53. I can't just say one time of the year I'm going to do something different. I have to commit to a lifestyle behavioral change and just try to be a little bit better today than I was yesterday.

54. It is all that an actress can hope for. The experience was very organic. I was able to be creative. In comedies, you go for the joke, and embellish. Action films are about action. They're not about performances.

55. I have the Samuel Jackson mentality, of working as much as possible. I think about Halle (Berry) and (Queen) Latifah, and they are the only two black actresses that work consistently. It scares me.

56. I just thought acting would be something to help out with my student loans, but my first year as an actress, I made more money than my parents. That's when I realized it could turn into a career. After that, I put everything I had into it.

57. I played sports year around: basketball, soccer, softball and I ran track year around, from the time I was, like, six, seven.

58. Hollywood panders to the 18-to-34 crowd. That demographic doesn't care about race and the package it comes in. They care about the hottest chick. They just like hot chicks.


59. You get so afraid of failure and so afraid of losing and so afraid of not being the best that it's not a natural drive - it's born out of fear of failure. Which helps in Hollywood.

60. A couple of my friends started having babies, and I thought "Maybe one day, with the right guy." I have to find the guy first.

61. I had to learn - since I'm divorced now and everyone is like "Oh my God, you're single, what's going on?"- that if I don't like to spend time with myself, how can I ask someone else to enjoy spending time with me? I'm getting to learn how to enjoy my solitude and have a good time.

62. After Halle Berry does her films and Queen Latifah does her films, it's left to all the black, Latino and Asian actresses to fight over a couple of roles. I opted for some TV. There's just not a ton of work in film.

63. I think if we open ourselves to all different kinds of men and all groups, we find a lot more opportunities to love.

64. Before I got married, I dated the gamut.


65. Thank God for J-Lo. All of a sudden big asses are de rigueur.

66. I was always in the popular crowd, but I really had atrocious teeth. I was encouraged to "do well in school, 'cause no one's going to marry you!"

67. Hollywood needs to recognize all shades of African American beauty.


68. I was at one time a football wife, and there is a certain level of bonding that happens between women who are the wives of football players.


69. But I prefer to go to comedies. Give me Julia Roberts smiling anyday.

70. I'm not sensitive, I'm not a weepy person.

71. Drama can feel like therapy whereas comedy feels like there's been a pressure and a weight lifted off of you. You come to work and you laugh all day, you go home and you feel light and there's a certain feeling when you're sitting with the audience and they leave after 90 minutes and it's just pure escapism and they're happy.

72. I date, but the person I date most is myself, unfortunately.

73. As a newly married person, as much as I would love for my husband to buy into the 'my way or the highway' philosophy, you realize it's all about compromising and finding some sort of middle ground that everyone can live with.

74. I'm not the type to lay out on the beach, but I do love to work out outside, and that can really take a toll on your skin!

75. All minorities think they're immune, but we're absolutely part of the one in five that gets skin cancer! It's a myth, and myths are meant to be debunked!

76. I like directors who have worked as actors. They know the experience.


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