10 Times Gabrielle Union Gave Us the #RealTalk We All Needed
The Being Mary Jane star’s wisdom knows no bounds.
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Being Gabrielle - Just like her on-screen persona Mary Jane Paul, actress Gabrielle Union layeth the #realtalk like no other. Here, 10 of her best pieces of advice on living, loving and succeeding as a woman on the rise. By Britt Middleton (Photo: Earl Gibson III/WireImage)
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On Equality in the Workplace - “The reality is that women are discriminated against in the workplace for being mothers. As much as there are strides being made — you get pregnant, your career takes a hit. You can't have a bad day. Don't you dare cry at work. Don't raise your voice," she said in a recent interview with Redbook. Especially if you're a Black woman in corporate America — now you're 'the angry Black woman.'" (Photo: Robin Marchant/Getty Images)
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On Her Growth as a Hollywood Actress - "I had been pretending to be fierce and fearless for a very long time," She told the crowd at the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon in 2013. "I was a victim masquerading as a survivor. I stayed when I should have run. I was quiet when I should have spoken up. I turned a blind eye to injustice instead of having the courage to stand up for what's right. I used to shrink in the presence of other dope beautiful women. I used to revel in gossip and rumors, and I lived for the negativity inflicted upon my sister actresses or anyone who I felt whose shine diminished my own." (Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for The People's Choice Awards)
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On Becoming a Stepmom - She told Vegas magazine, "I went from no kids to D getting full custody, and the next day we had a full house. So it was instant. Our lives never skipped a beat. When you're someone who goes from never having thought about birthing her own babies to a ready-made family that has immediate needs and wants and desires, your life takes a back burner. If I were lucky enough to have one come out of my body, then great, I'd be totally open to that. But D's kids are more than just part of the wedding. They are part of my life. They're a package deal." (Photo: Vallery Jean/Getty Images)
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On Asking for a Prenup With Husband Dwyane Wade - "I want people to know the work that it took to get through UCLA, that I had student loans and worked. I was eating Top Ramen and lived well below my means," she said in an interview with Arsenio Hall. Now that it’s time to get married to a man who happens to play basketball and has done well for himself, I want to make it clear that I have in no way hitched my wagon to his star. I have my own wagon and star.” Boom! (Photo: Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images)
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On Her Killer Personal Style - “The second I fall into too many trends or worried about the judgment or I want to please this group of people, I’m trying to please this group of people, it doesn’t feel free," she said at the Essence Street Style Block Party. It feels like I just put myself in a prison, so I evolve, it ebbs and flows. I get it right, I get it wrong, but by whose estimations? As long as I feel good and look good, I’m doing all right.” (Photo: RGK, PacificCoastNews)
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On Her Best Beauty Secret - Skin so flawless we have to take note... “I started that in my mid-30s. A gallon of water a day. Hair, skin, nails: It’s the cheapest and best anti-aging and hair-growth treatment — it changed my whole life,” she told New York Magazine's The Cut. “It also helps if you’re trying to maintain a certain weight — it’s a little more forgiving, because well, people tend to get a little backed up if they don’t drink a lot of it. Water cleanses you and keeps things moving beautifully.” (Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
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On Keeping Her Body Right and Tight - She writes on Instagram, “Tear down, to build... muscle building time... it's a process that does not happen overnight. It ain't cute. It ain't easy. Folks will chime in and make comments instead of working on their own life... but you have to figure out what's healthy for you. We all don't look alike so every [person’s] ‘healthy’ will be different and that's OK. Cheers to everyone who has embraced being in a better place... mind, body and soul.” (Photo: Gabrielle Union via Instagram)
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On Surviving Sexual Assault at Age 19 - On an appearance on The View last year, she revealed, “I hated the cloak of victimhood. I realized they were going to allow me to be a victim, and not succeed and not achieve my goals. I wanted to embrace being a survivor. That’s who I am. I wasn’t raised to be coddled. I was raised to be an independent woman, standing on my own two feet, and that’s the road I opted to take.” (Photo: Earl Gibson III/Getty Images for BET)
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On Her Private Nude Photos Leaking to the Internet - “Other people think that they are entitled to know everything about us because we are celebrities, in the public eye. No. If I show my husband my naked body, it doesn't mean everyone gets to see it," she told Glamour magazine. (Photo: Gabrielle Union via Instagram)