Gabourey Sidibe Empire’s Becky Williams

Cookie and crew will be back before you know it! You gotta love black woman with confidence.  From her entertaining social media (please get on Snapchat!) content to her personality in general, you gotta love Becky aka Gabourey!

Prior to Empire many knew Gabourey Sidibe as the girl from Precious.  Precious’ real name is Gabourey Sidibe and we are certain she will be entertaining us for many years to come!

Gabourey Sidibe Empire
Gabourey Sidibe Empire

Before Jimmy Kimmel married Molly McNearney on July 13, 2013, Gabourey Sidibe pulled a prank on Kimmel.  When Kimmel’s wife-to-be was set to walk down the aisle, Sidibe decided to takeover!

Wearing a wedding dress and a long veil, Sidibe took McKearney’s walk down the aisle surprising Jimmy Kimmel, who knew nothing about it.  After the joke, Molly walked down the aisle and Sidibe changed into a red dress:

Gabourey Sidibe Jimmy Kimmel
Gabourey Sidibe Jimmy Kimmel

Gabourey Sidibe and Ta’Rhonda Jones (Porsha) were both promoted to regulars for Empire’s second season.


Gabourey Sidibe’s Empire character, Becky Williams, got a love interest this season: Actor Mo McRae.  Zeba Blay of The Huffington Post explains:

“On Wednesday night, the writers of “Empire” made a bold move when they included a scene of Gabourey Sidibe’s character Becky having sex with her boyfriend MC J Poppa.  The scene was refreshing because it reminded us that, yes, fat women like and have sex, and it shouldn’t be a big deal.”

Mo McRae Empire
Mo McRae Empire

Becky Williams was Lucious Lyon’s executive assistant in the first season of Empire and she has worked alongside Jamal Lyon in the second season of the show.

Gabourey Sidibe Empire Fox
Gabourey Sidibe Empire Fox

In an unforgettable Empire moment Hakeem Lyon looks up at Becky during an intense meeting and asks “What type of black named Becky?”

Gabourey Sidibe Empire Becky Williams
Gabourey Sidibe Empire Becky Williams

 Becky makes the perfect response: “Oh, my mom’s white.”

Gabourey Sidibe Empire Becky Williams
Gabourey Sidibe Empire Becky Williams

CoverGirl

Empire stars Kaitlin Doubleday, Grace Gealey, Serayah McNeill and Gabourey Sidibe recently became CoverGirls.  The ladies introduced a special collection inspired by their characters on Empire.

Sidibe can be seen in the following Instagram post from CoverGirls’ account:

A photo posted by COVERGIRL (@covergirl) on Mar 24, 2016 at 7:35am PDT


Biography

Sidibe was born in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York on May 6, 1983.  Her mother, Alice Tan Ridley was an aspiring singer whom Gabourey lived with after her parents divorced.  Ridley was a finalist on 2010’s America’s Got Talent, showing off her amazing voice and magnificent stage presence.

Gabourey’s father, Ibnou Sidibe was a cab driver was Gabourey was younger.  Ibnou hails from Senegal, Africa.

Raised in Harlem, New York, Sidibe gained fame when she was younger by singing in the subways.  Sidibe’s love for music came from her mother.  Gabourey sang songs to classmates at recess for pocket change.

As she grew older, Gabourey maintained her love for performing, leading to numerous parts at local theaters.  Sidibe worked as a receptionist prior to pursuing her acting career.

Movies and TV Shows

2009

  • Precious as Claireece “Precious” Jones
2010
  • Saturday Night Live
  • The Big C as Andrea Jackson
2011
  • Yelling to the Sky as Latonya Williams
  • Tower Heist as Odessa Montero
  • Glenn Martin DDS as Keisha
  • American Dad! as Party Girl
2012
  • Seven Psychopaths as Sharice
  • American Dad! as Party Girl
2013
  • American Horror Story: Coven as Queenie
    2014
    • White Bird in a Blizzard as Beth
    • Life Partners as Jen
    • Top Five as Herself
    • American Horror Story: Freak Show as Regina Ross
    2015
    • Gravy as Winketta
    • Empire as Becky Williams
    • Difficult People as Denise
    2016
    • Grimsby as Banu
    • American Horror Story: Hotel as Queenie

    Gabourey Sidibe Movies and TV Shows do not stop at Precious and Empire.  Some of Sidibe’s additional roles include Tower Heist, Gravy and The Big C.  Here is a complete list of Sidibe’s movies and TV shows thanks to Wikipedia:


    Gabourey Sidibe Movies and TV Shows
    Gabourey Sidibe Movies and TV Shows



    Gabourey Sidibe Awards
    Gabourey Sidibe Awards

    Awards

    Gabourey Sidibe’s Awards include two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Award for Precious.  Along with these, Sidibe was nominated for dozens of additional high profile award for Precious.  Here are additional award Sidibe has been nominated for along with the awards she has won:

    2009

    • Awards Circuit Community Awards, Best Actress in a Leading Role (Nominated) – Precious
    • BET Award, Best Actress (Nominated) – Precious
    • Black Reel Awards, Best Actress (Won) – Precious
    • Black Reel Awards, Best Breakthrough Performance (Won) – Precious
    • EDA Award, Best Actress (Nominated) – Precious
    • EDA Special Mention Award, Bravest Performance (Nominated) – Precious
    • EDA Female Focus Award, Breakthrough Performance (Nominated) – Precious
    • Boston Society of Film Critics Award, Best Actress (2nd place) – Precious
    • Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, Best Actress (Nominated) – Precious
    • Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, Most Promising Performer (Nominated) – Precious
    • Chicago International Film Festival, Breakthrough Performance Award (Won) – Precious
    • Boston Society of Film Critics Award, Best Ensemble Cast (Won) – Precious
      • Shared with:
        • Mo’Nique
        • Paula Patton
        • Sherri Shepherd
        • Mariah Carey
        • Lenny Kravitz
        • Chyna Layne
        • Amina Robinson
        • Stephanie Andujar
        • Angelic Zambrana
    • Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards, Best Actress (3rd place) – Precious
    • Detroit Film Critic Society, Best Actress (Won) – Precious
    • Detroit Film Critic Society, Breakthrough Artist (Won) – Precious
    • Florida Film Critics Circle Award, Best Actress (Won) – Precious
    • Florida Film Critics Circle Award, Pauline Kael Breakout Award (Won) – Precious
    • Hollywood Film Award, New Hollywood (Won) – Precious
    • Houston Film Critics Society Award, Best Actress (Nominated) – Precious

    2010

    • Oscar, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Nominated) – Precious
    • Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture (Nominated) – Precious
    • BAFTA Film Award, Best Leading Actress (Nominated) – Precious
    • Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, Best Actress (Nominated) – Precious
    • Chlotrudis Award, Best Actress (Won) – Precious
    • CinEuphoria Award, Best Actress, Audience Award (Won) – Precious
    • CinEuphoria Award, Best Duo, International Competition, Shared with Mo’Nique – Precious
    • Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, Breakout Award (Won) – Precious
    • Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, The More, Plrease! Breakout Award (Won) – Precious
    • Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, Film Performance of the Year (Nominated) – Precious
    • Golden Schmoes Award, Best Actress of the Year (Nominated) – Precious
    • Image Award, Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (Won) – Precious
    • Independent Spirit Award, Best Female Lead – Precious
    • Indiewire Critics’ Poll, Best Lead Performance (Nominated) – Precious
    • International Film Critic Society, Best Actress (Won) – Precious

    2012

    • Boston Society of Film Critics Award, Best Ensemble Cast (Won) – Seven Psychopaths
      • Shared with:
        • Colin Farrell
        • Sam Rockwell
        • Christopher Walken
        • Abbie Cornish
        • Linda Bright Clay
        • Kevin Corrigan
        • Woody Harrelson
        • Zeljko Ivanek
        • Long Nguyen
        • Christine Marzano
        • Tom Waits
        • Brendan Sexton III
        • Olga Kurylenko
        • Bonny
        • Michael Pitt
        • Michael Stuhlbarg
        • Harry Dean Stanton
    • Dallas International Film Festival, Dallas Star Award (Won) 
    • Image Award, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Nominated) – The Big C
    2013
    • Image Award, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Nominated) – The Big C

    2014
    • Image Award, Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie (Nominated) – American Horror Story 

    Gabourey Sidibe Awards
    Gabourey Sidibe Awards

    Net Worth

    Gabby Sidibe’s net worth is currently $6 million.  Along with Empire, Sidibe is best-known for playing in Precious and American Horror Story: Freak Show.


    Golden Globes 
    A wise individual once stated, “If people hate you, don’t be worried because haters are people who hate the ones they can’t be.” Gabourey Sidibe’s Golden Globes dresses are always amazing and we absolutely love them! Remember to keep laughing the haters off!!
    Gabourey Sidibe Golden Globes
    Gabourey Sidibe Golden Globes

    Whether you have referred to her as “the girl from Precious” or Becky Williams, the girl from Precious has a name: Gabourey Sidibe.  We wanted to relay a message from her to the world: You will remember my name!