How Gabrielle Union overcame ‘feelings of worthlessness’ to build a $40 million fortune

Gabrielle Union has carved a niche for herself as a media personality and an actress, and this has helped her amass a fortune.

Her career started in the 1990s after featuring in some television roles, including Saved by the Bell, Family Matters, and 7th Heaven. She subsequently appeared in three episodes of Sister, Sister and also played a Klingon in an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in 1997, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

In 1999, she booked her first big film role in She’s All That. She also appeared in the cult classic 10 Things I Hate About You in that same year and in the year 2000, she broke through via the movie Love & Basketball.

However, Union established herself as a force in Hollywood following her role in Bring it On, which brought in $90 million at the box office and became a cult classic. Her role in Bring it On brought her several acting opportunities in film and television.

She starred in The Brothers, Two Can Play at That Game, CBS’s City of Angels as Dr Courtney Ellis and appeared on the hit sitcom Friends. In 2003, she played the lead role in Deliver Us From Eva and a role in Bad Boys II. She also featured in Cradle 2 the Grave, a film that starred Jet Li and DMX.

Union has continued to feature in a number of films, including Neo Ned, where she played a delusional woman, The Honeymooners, Night Stalker, Daddy’s Little Girls and the Christmas movie The Perfect Holiday.

Other roles include three episodes of Ugly Betty, playing “Renee Slater,” Cadillac Records, Meet Dave as well as shows like Life and Flash Forward.

Union’s success in the movie industry has brought her considerable wealth. According to Celebrity Net Worth, she has a net worth of $40 million. Celebrity Net Worth further adds that part of her net worth is the result of her marriage to NBA player Dwayne Wade. They have a child together through a surrogate mother.

Union was married to NFL player Chris Howard. The couple divorced in 2006. In 2014, she got married to Wade. Besides her acting career, Union has significant real estate holdings.

Union and her husband purchased a lavish $20 million mansion in Hidden Hills, California in 2020. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the couple have a property in Sherman Oaks that they purchased in 2018 for $6 million and an extensive $10.7 million waterfront mansion in Miami.

Union was born on October 29, 1972, in Omaha, Nebraska. Her father was a military officer while her mother was an independent woman. Her parents divorced after thirty years of marriage. Union studied at UCLA and obtained a bachelor’s degree in sociology.

Her road to success wasn’t easy. “I’ve struggled with feelings of worthlessness for a very long time, probably until about last year, even though I had a body of work and I’m pretty accomplished,” Union said in the March 2018 issue of Redbook magazine.

The 49-year-old, who has a haircare line and a clothing line, also recently shared her sexual abuse experience, her infertility struggle, and how she overcame white beauty ideals.