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Happy Wednesday! You know what that means. It’s that time of the week where you can unabashedly declare which ladies you’ve been hardcore crushing on. At Decider, we like to make a weekly point of saying ‘YAAAS’ to a badass member of Team Woman, and today our queen is Gabrielle Union, part of the buzzworthy ensemble in Nate Parker’s slave rebellion exploration, The Birth of a Nation.
Written, directed, produced, and starring Nate Parker (Beyond the Lights, About Alex), the film — whose adapted title is an ironic play on D.W. Griffith’s controversial propaganda epic of the same name — reimagines southern Virginia’s 1831 slave rebellion led by slave turned preacher, Nat Turner (portrayed by Parker). In addition to receiving rave reviews following its 2016 Sundance Film Festival debut, Parker’s powerful biopic has been picked up by Fox Searchlight for a record-breaking $17.5 million — a virtually unheard of sum for a film to come out of a festival, even one as prestigious as Sundance. Starring alongside Parker and Union, The Birth of a Nation features Armie Hammer (The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Social Network) and Penelope Ann Miller (American Crime) as Nat’s kindly owners Samuel and Elizabeth Turner as well as and Aja Naomi King (How To Get Away with Murder) as Nat’s wife, Cherry.
While you wait for The Birth of a Nation to come to a theater near you later this year, however, see where you can acquaint yourself with the work of Gabrielle Union on streaming because in addition to this predicted Oscar contender, you’ll be seeing plenty of the actress in the months ahead.
WHO’S THAT LADY?: Gabrielle Monique Union
WHY WE’RE CRUSHING: Though she’s been acting and modeling since the early ’90s, 43-year-old Union doesn’t look a day over 25. Honestly, look at her. How does she do it? But who are we kidding… We adore Union because she’s enormously talented despite being criminally underrated. Get with it, critics! And also, because she’s never heard of Stacey Dash.
WHERE YOU KNOW HER FROM: You may remember Union from a little movie called Bring It On as well as ’90s rom-com staple 10 Things I Hate About You. She also broke up the sausage party that was Bad Boys II and is currently the star of her award-winning drama, Being Mary Jane, which has (finally!) garnered Union some critical attention. The series (BET’s most successful to date) follows talk show host Mary Jane Paul and the visceral ups and downs in the search for Mr. Right. The actress has also made memorable appearances in Chris Rock’s Top Five, Think Like a Man, and, if you’re in tune with your ’90s TV rolodex, Sister, Sister and 7th Heaven.
WHERE YOU’LL SEE HER NEXT: In addition to The Birth of a Nation, get ready to see Union in upcoming thriller Sleepless Night, co-starring Michelle Monaghan, Dermot Mulroney, and Jamie Foxx as well as holiday flick A Meyers Christmas. 2016 also marks the fourth season of Being Mary Jane, though no premiere date has been set.
[Stream Being Mary Jane on the BET Now Shows App and Netflix]
Photos: Everett Collection; Gifs: YouTube
