Gabourey Sidibe is an American actress. She has received several accolades for her roles across American film and television, including nominations for an Academy Award (Oscar), a British Academy Film Award (BAFTA), a Critics' Choice Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAGs). Overall, she has won 16 awards from 44 nominations.
Sidibe is most acclaimed for her debut breakout role at the age of 26 in Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (2009), a drama film about a young woman struggling against poverty and abuse. For Precious, she won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead, the National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture, and earned Best Actress nominations at the Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, Critics' Choice Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and SAG Awards. She is the eighth black nominee for the Best Actress Academy Award and, as of 2025, one of fifteen black nominees. She was also nominated for the SAG Award for Outstanding Ensemble with the cast of Precious.
Sidibe received further accolades for roles including the comedy drama series The Big C (2010–2013), the satirical drama film Seven Psychopaths (2012), the anthology horror series American Horror Story (2013–2018) and its sequel American Horror Stories (2022), the comedy series Empire (2015–2020), and the horror thriller film Antebellum (2020). She won a Black Reel Award for directing The Tale of Four (2017), a film about four different women with four different paths whose lives interconnect. Her other commercially successful films include the heist comedy Tower Heist (2011) and the romantic comedy Top Five (2014).
Major associations + Association Year Category Work Result Academy Awards2010Best ActressPreciousBritish Academy Film Awards2010Best Actress in a Leading RoleCritics' Choice Awards2010Best ActressGolden Globe Awards2010Best Actress in a Motion Picture – DramaScreen Actors Guild Awards2010Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading RoleOutstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Miscellaneous awards + Association Year Category Work Result Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards2009Best ActressPreciousBest Breakthrough PerformanceBravest Performance AwardBlack Reel Awards2010Outstanding ActressOutstanding Breakthrough Performance2019Outstanding ShortThe Tale of Four2021Best Supporting ActressAntebellumBET Awards2010Best ActressPreciousIndependent Spirit Awards2010Best Female LeadMTV Movie & TV Awards2010Best Breakout StarNAACP Image Awards2010Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture2012Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy SeriesThe Big C2013Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series2014Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic SpecialAmerican Horror Story2021Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion PictureAntebellum2023Outstanding Guest PerformanceAmerican Horror StoriesNational Board of Review Awards2010Breakthrough PerformancePreciousSatellite Awards2009Outstanding New TalentTeen Choice Awards2015Choice TV ChemistryEmpire
Critics associations + Association Year Category Work Result African-American Film Critics Association Awards2009Best ActressPreciousBoston Society of Film Critics Awards2009Best Cast2012Best CastSeven PsychopathsChicago Film Critics Association Awards2009Best ActressPreciousMost Promising PerformerDetroit Film Critics Society Awards2009Best ActressBest Breakthrough PerformanceBest EnsembleFlorida Film Critics Circle Awards2009Best ActressPauline Kael Breakout AwardHouston Film Critics Society Awards2009Best ActressIowa Film Critics Society Awards2010Best ActressOnline Film Critics Society Awards2010Best ActressSan Diego Film Critics Society Awards2012Best Performance by an EnsembleSeven PsychopathsSt. Louis Gateway Film Critics Awards2009Best ActressPreciousWashington D.C. Area Film Critics Association2009Best ActressBest Breakthrough PerformanceBest EnsembleWomen Film Critics Circle Awards2009Best Young Actress
See also
List of black Academy Award winners and nominees
References