Look Who's on the Cover of the March Issue of Ebony Mag

The march issue of Ebony magazine features one of the fastest rising amateur stars on the cover. Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe was a normal 26 year old from New York, attending Lehman college, and working for a non-profit organization. She didn't even want the role of some stereotypical girl struggling through life. It was the persistence of family and friends, mainly her best friend and her mother(singer), that finally made her say "O.K.! Fine".

Two years later, the success and fame of this normal life women has grown like wildfire. She's bombarded by many people when out in public with salutations and thanks. Thanks for the her representation on such a serious issue. The movie "Precious" plays on the stereotypes and real life issues facing the broken home families in many of our societies. Issues of abuse, rejection and wreckless behavior are brought to the forefront demanding our attention. The movie is based on the novel "Push" by Sapphire. The main character was a young women living at home with her single mom, and faced everyday tragedies, from verbal and mental abuse employed by her mother, to chronic depression and feelings and suicidal thoughts.

The ironic thing is that Gabby says.that she is actually the complete opposite of her role in the movie, and her bubbly and cheerful attitude shows it. Even at an plus size of over 300 pounds, she says "The truth is, I was awesome first..." With this outside appearance on the role, people often approach her with words of encouragement, letting her know that things will be o.k. and also sharing similar intimate traumatic issues from their lives. Gabby was bewildered at such responses for she knew her real life was nothing of the sort. However, she finally concluded: "...But I get it! I'm now the face of that story, of that type of abuse and neglect, and that hope I guess. So when people tell me, when they thank me, or they just want me to know, that makes me feel good because it feels like that's the reason we did the movie..." Sure she has experienced some of the same things as her character, she had learned different coping skills to deal with them. Two being, a very loud and an interesting combination of being sarcastically funny. She also has the tendency to be overly talkative about herself. She does acknowledge these faults and therefore does not come off as some arrogant person, while proving it with statements like, "Justin Timberlake just said my name", during an announcement of her as a nominee for a Golden Globe award for best actress.

"Precious exists in people I've known. She exists in people I do know. She had to look in the mirror and see a blond girl in order to leave the house. I know that girl, I've been been that girl...I found something about myself that I liked...I found more things I liked about me until I was able to completely love myself as I am now..."

Since the success, the 26 year vibrant young women has been forced to change her lifestyle. No longer working for the Fresh Air fund, Gabby's days consist of photo shoot appointments, interviews and working on her new movie role in "Yelling to the Sky", directed by Victoria Mahoney. She's even had to change her e-mail address and adjust her Facebook account. She makes note of the difficulty it is for her to do the simple things she loved, like going out for a night on the town. Still in all, she is definately taking it all in-stride, and is sure to continue captivating audiences with her witty demeanor.