Woman Crush Wednesday: Gabourey Sidibe

It’s Wednesday, which means, it’s socially welcome to crush on your favorite lady. This week we’re head over heels for Empire star Gabourey Sidibe. Click on any of the title links to find out where you can stream the best of her career.

WHO’S THAT GIRL?: Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe

WHAT’S THE CAUSE FOR WORSHIP?: Gabby turns 29 years young today.

WHERE DO YOU KNOW HER FROM?: Right out of the gate, in her very first appearance, Gabby earned a nomination for Best Actress at the 82nd Academy Awards for her title tole in Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. She lost to Sandra Bullock, whose campaign for The Blind Side went unmatched back in 2009, but the writing was on the wall: we were going to see a lot more of Gabby Sidibe. In the years since, Gabby was a regular on Showtime’s The Big C, starred in a couple irreverent comedies including Seven Psychopaths and Tower Heist, and spooked audiences as real-life voodoo doll Queenie on American Horror Story: Coven. This year, we saw her in Life Partners alongside Gillian Jacobs and Leighton Meester and in the drama White Bird in a Blizzard alongside Shailene Woodley. What had people talking, however, was her appearance as Becky in primetime phenomenon Empire.

WHEN YOU’RE GOING TO SEE HER NEXT: Being that Becky saved the day for Lucious on more than one occasion, Gabby is making her way back to the music industry drama for Season Two. She’s also filming a Sacha Baron Cohen comedy along with Rebel Wilson, Penélope Cruz, Isla Fisher, and Peaky Blinders‘ Annabelle Wallis.

WHY WE’RE CRUSHING: Since coming onto the scene in 2009, Gabby has brought with her an unflinchingly genuine nature that keeps the Hollywood bullshit in perspective. (Remember that time she called out Joan Cusack for being condescending and rude? You go girl.) We can’t wait until Season Two of Empire, but we have our fingers crossed that in the meantime she’ll guest star on Inside Amy Schumer. Amy, can we make this happen, already?

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Photos: Everett Collection