Gabrielle Union Once Dreamed of Being a Video Vixen, With a Tupac Connection

Gabrielle Union has been a leading lady for quite some time. The Being Mary Jane star began acting in her 20s in a string of popular ’90s sitcoms as a guest star before her breakout role in the 1999 cult classic comedy Bring It On. Since then, Union has remained one of the most in-demand actresses in Hollywood. But before Union rose to prominence in film and television, she had her eyes set on another form of entertainment: music videos.

Union recently revealed that she dreamed of being a video vixen in the era when video models were the hottest thing. The Jasmine Brand reports on a recent interview where Union spilled the beans about working at a talent agency in an effort to help pay her college fees. While there, she was approached by agents to be taken on as a client. 

“So I got this internship in my last year of school, and I was like the office gopher, help, or whatever, and I worked in the kids department,” she said. “So we were working with Hayden Panetierre and Jessica Biel and Shane West and all of those young child actors. I’d talk to their parents and managers and whatnot, and when my internship ended, they were like, ‘Would you ever consider being our client and us representing you?’” Acting hadn’t crossed her mind. 

“Mind you, I had such low self-esteem, I wanted to be a video h— so bad,” Union said. “That’s all I wanted. I didn’t wanna be in movies, I didn’t wanna be in commercials, I wanted to be the chosen video h—.” But Union says she lacked the body type vixens of the day were known for. “Well, that’s what we called them then, now they are ‘video vixens’, ‘IG models,’ yeah. But I wanted to be like a hot b—, except I lacked all of the necessary accouterment like big boobs or an ass. It wasn’t really the desired look at the time,” she explained. 

She ended up taking her chances to audition for one of Tupac’s music videos. “I was literally auditioning for the ‘California Love’ video with Tupac and 20 of his closest friends,” she added.