Gabourey Sidibe’s mother is an R&B gospel singer and her father a Senegalese taxi driver. She is born in Brooklyn and grew up in Harlem.
In Precious, Gabourey Sidibe (26) plays a pregnant teenager who struggles to overcome the years of abuse from her parents. In the film the über-Diva Mariah Carey has a critically acclaimed role as a social worker and she can be seen totally devoid of glamorous artifice.
Sidibe’s debut role in Precious led to her first Academy Award nomination. Although in the film she can be seen as a depressed teenager with low self esteem, this cannot be further from her real personality. She is quoted as saying: “I learned to love myself, because I sleep with myself every night and I wake up with myself every morning, and if I don't like myself, there's no reason to even live the life.”
