Early life

Sidibe was born in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Harlem. Her mother, Alice Tan Ridley, is an American R&B and gospel singer who appeared on the fifth season of America's Got Talent, on June 15, 2010. Her father, Ibnou Sidibe, is from Senegal and is a cab driver. Growing up, Sidibe lived with her aunt, the noted feminist activist Dorothy Pitman Hughes. She has attended Borough of Manhattan Community College, City College of New York, and graduated from Mercy College. She worked at The Fresh Air Fund's office as a receptionist before she went on to pursue a career in acting.

Career

In Precious, Sidibe played the main character, Claireece "Precious" Jones, a 16-year-old mother of two (both of whom are the results of being raped by her father) trying to escape abuse at the hands of her mother. The film won numerous awards, including two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Award. On December 15, 2009, she was nominated for a Golden Globe in the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Drama for her performance in Precious. The next month she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

Her next film, Yelling to the Sky, was a Sundance Lab project directed by Victoria Mahoney and starring Zoe Kravitz, in which she played Latonya Williams, a bully.In 2011, Sidibe was in the film Tower Heist and voiced a party girl character in "Hot Water", the season 7 premiere of American Dad!. She appeared in the season 8 American Dad! episode "Stanny Tendergrass" early in 2013 and also stars in the music video for "Don't Stop (Color on the Walls)" by indie pop band Foster the People. Sidibe also appeared in the Showtime network series entitled The Big C as Andrea Jackson.

During an interview, Sidibe reported that before landing her role in the 2009 film, Precious, Joan Cusack advised her that the entertainment industry was not for her and to quit, leaning over and stating: "Oh honey, you should really quit the business. It's so image-conscious."

In April 2013, it was announced that Sidibe would be joining the cast of the third season of American Horror Story, portraying Queenie, a young witch. She returned to the series for its fourth season, American Horror Story: Freak Show as a secretarial school student, Regina Ross. As of 2015, she stars in Lee Daniels Fox musical series Empire as Becky Williams alongside Terrance Howard and Taraji P. Henson. Sidibe portrays the head of A&R in the Empire company. In April 2015, it was announced Sidibe would be promoted to a series regular beginning in Season 2. She also stars in the Hulu series Difficult People as Denise.

On June 3, 2015 it was confirmed Sidibe would be writing her memoir and it would be published in 2017. On January 6, 2016, Sidibe appeared in the penultimate episode for American Horror Story: Hotel, reprising her Coven role as Queenie, marking her third season in the series.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2009	Precious	Claireece "Precious" Jones
2011	Yelling to the Sky	Latonya Williams
2011	Tower Heist	Odessa Montero
2012	Seven Psychopaths	Sharice
2014	White Bird in a Blizzard	Beth
2014	Life Partners	Jen
2014	Top Five	Herself
2015	Gravy	Winketta
2016	Grimsby	Banu

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Saturday Night Live	Host	Episode: "Gabourey Sidibe/MGMT"
2010-13	The Big C	Andrea Jackson	32 episodes
2011	Glenn Martin DDS	Keisha (voice)	Episode: "Date with Destiny"
2011	American Dad!	Party Girl (voice)	Episode: "Hot Water"
2012	American Dad!	Herself (voice)	Episode: "Stanny Tendergrass"
2013-14	American Horror Story: Coven	Queenie	12 episodes
2014	American Horror Story: Freak Show	Regina Ross	3 episodes
2015-present	Empire	Becky Williams	26 episodes
2015	Difficult People	Denise	6 episodes
2016	American Horror Story: Hotel	Queenie	Episode: "Battle Royale"

Music videos

• Foster the People: "Don't Stop (Color on the Walls)" (2011)
• Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx: "(I Wanna) Channing All Over Your Tatum" (2014)

Awards and nominations

Year	Nominated work	Association	Category	Result
2009	Precious	Alliance of Women Film Journalists	Best Actress	Nominated
			Best Bravest Performance	Nominated
			Best Breakthrough Performance	Nominated
			Best Ensemble Cast	Nominated
		Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	Best Actress	Nominated
			Most Promising Newcomer	Nominated
		Chicago International Film Festival	Best Breakthrough Performance	Won
		Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards	Best Actress	Nominated
		Detroit Film Critics Society Awards	Best Actress	Won
			Breakthrough Performance	Won
			Best Ensemble	Nominated
		Florida Film Critics Circle Awards	Best Actress	Won
			Breakout Award	Won
		Hollywood Film Festival	New Hollywood	Won
		Houston Film Critics Society Awards	Best Actress	Nominated
		National Board of Review	Breakthrough Female Performances	Won
		Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards	Breakout Performance - On Camera	Won
		Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards	Best Actress	Nominated
		St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards	Best Actress	Nominated
		Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards	Best Actress	Nominated
			Best Breakthrough Performance	Won
			Best Ensemble	Nominated
		Women Film Critics Circle Awards	Best Young Actress	Won
2010		Academy Awards	Best Actress	Nominated
		BAFTA Awards	Best Actress in a Leading Role	Nominated
		BET Awards	Best Actress	Nominated
		Black Reel Awards	Best Actress	Won
			Best Breakthrough Performance	Won
			Best Ensemble	Won
		Boston Society of Film Critics Awards	Best Actress	Nominated
			Best Cast	Won
		Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	Best Actress	Nominated
			Best Cast	Nominated
		Dublin Film Critics Circle Award	Best Actress	Nominated
		Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama	Nominated
		Independent Spirit Awards	Best Female Lead	Won
		International Cinephile Society Award	Best Actress	Nominated
		Iowa Film Critics Awards	Best Actress	Won
		Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards	Best Actress	Won
		MTV Movie Awards	Best Breakout Star	Nominated
		NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture	Won
		Online Film Critics Society Awards	Best Actress	Nominated
		Satellite Awards	Outstanding New Talent	Won
		Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Nominated
			Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role	Nominated
		Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards	Best Actress	Nominated
2012	Seven Psychopaths	Boston Society of Film Critics Awards	Best Cast	Won
	The Big C	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Nominated
2013		NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Nominated
2014	American Horror Story: Coven	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Television, Miniseries or Dramatic Special	Nominated

Charities

Gabourey Sidibe supports the following charitable cause: Children.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]