Gabourey Sidibe broke down into tears while watching the audition tape that launched her career and snagged her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress when she was just 24-years-old.

The “Empire” and “American Horror Story” alum appeared on the “One54 Africa” podcast hosted by Akbar Gbajabiamila and Godfrey and revisited the moment that changed everything — her audition for Lee Daniels’ “Precious.” The prolific actress was brought to tears by what she saw. “I am so grateful for her,” Sidibe said as she reacted to the footage, reflecting on how that role reshaped her life and opened doors she hadn’t expected.

Sidibe’s strikingly raw audition clip is a reminder to any and all performers out there looking for their big break that singular, fearless performances can upend expectations and create lasting opportunities. Sidibe, now 42, has recently celebrated her television film debut with Mary J. Blige Presents: “Be Happy,” which premieres on Lifetime this month.

Looking back, Sidibe has been candid about the struggles and odd jobs she held before stardom and how those experiences shaped her approach to performance. Revisiting the audition was a full-circle moment: both a validation and a reminder of the work behind the moment people remember. 

“When you grow up a girl who is fat, Black, and everybody else around you is Dominican and Puerto Rican, and you are othered…I was othered in a lot of ways. I’ve never fit in. I’ve never felt comfortable. And I’m charismatic as f*ck. People like me for no reason, but you have to get through the initial impression. People don’t like people who they think are ugly,” Sidibe boldly shared.

She continued, “If you just see me: fat, Black, ugly, all of these things…here’s the thing, I’m fly as sh*t and my husband loves me down! I’m actually really really dope, but it’s the way the world works. It’s the way the world sees beauty. The standard of beauty…none of us can hit it. The universal standard of beauty, I am very far…the antithesis of.” She went on to describe how, now she gets many compliments on her beauty, but she knows it’s based on her being an actor. “Because you know what I do for a living, you think that.”

Sidibe told the hosts that her self-perception has shifted in the 20 years since that audition. “I think about how young and little I was. I was a baby. My brain was mashed potatoes back then,” she said. “And that girl, her life was completely different than it is today. And the way she felt about her life, the way she felt about the world, the way she felt about herself was so small, was so, so small and so unhealed.” Sidibe expressed her gratitude for the person she used to be and praised her growth.

“I love my face so much, and I didn't love it as much then. I love it. I love it now. And I think I love it so much because I see my mom too. And I see my daughter, and it's crazy,” she shared. Sidibe is the mother of twins Maya and Cooper, whom she and husband Brandon Frankel welcomed into their lives in 2024. 

“My son got all the melanin,” Sidibe said, “And my daughter is very, very, very fair-skinned. Her hair is coarse, but she's very fair. But her facial features, her cheeks, she has my chin. I wonder how much she's going to look like me. And she's going to have a different life than me. … Things are going to be different for her.”

The full interview digs into Sidibe’s life as a mother, she reminisces over her own late mother, Alice Tan Ridley, talks about the slave castles in Ghana, addresses that viral chicken scene in “Precious,” and so much more! It’s definitely worth the watch!