One of today’s hottest stars, Gabrielle Union, continues to shine. Union can be seen in BET’s new series “Being Mary Jane,” written by Mara Brock Akil and directed by Salim Akil, Union plays the lead as ‘Mary Jane Paul’ a successful talk show host. The 90-minute pilot debuted in summer of 2013 as the highest-rated show on cable for the evening pulling in 4 million viewers. Union earned rave reviews for her performance as ‘Mary Jane.’ Nuzhat Naoreen of Entertainment Weekly stated, “The pilot is funny, fresh, and affecting. Much of the credit goes to Union, who manages to capture her character’s single gal despondency without making her appear weak or needy.” Megan Angelo of Glamour magazine also stated, “I can’t remember the last time I watched a show and was so utterly hooked on a heroine. I think that’s partially due to room-to-breathe extended episode, partially due to Union’s authentic, balls-out performance, and partially due to the fact that the character is so damn likable for so many reasons.” Union received a 2014 NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special” for her role in “Being Mary Jane.” Union can also be seen in Chris Rock’s comedy “Top Five” in which she plays Rock’s fiancé.

Union makes her debut as a producer in Lifetime’s “With This Ring” starring Regina Hall, Jill Scott, Eve Jeffers Cooper, Brooklyn Sudano, Deion Sanders, Stephen Bishop, Jason George and Brian White. The film is a romantic comedy based on the bestseller “The Vow” by Denene Millner, Angela Burt-¬Murray and Mitzi Miller.

Union’s additional film credits include Screem Gems hits “Think Like a Man” and “Think Like a Man Too,” Lionsgate’s “Good Deeds,” Film Science’s “In Our Nature,” critically acclaimed “Cadillac Records,” “The Perfect Holiday,” “Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls,” Ryan Murphy’s “Running With Scissors,” the blockbuster hit “Bad Boys II,” “Breakin’ All the Rules,” “Deliver Us From Eva,” Universal’s cult hit “Bring It On,” “Welcome to Collinwood,” “Abandoned,” “Two Can Play That Game,” “Love & Basketball,” “Cradle to the Grave,” “Ten Things I Hate About You,” “The Brothers,” “Neo Ned,” “The Honeymooners,” “Meet Dave” and “She’s All That.” Union was recently seen in PBS’ four hour television documentary series “Half the Sky,” based on the best-selling book by Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.

On the small screen, Union made her debut in UPN’s hit comedy “Moesha,” and then went on to guest-star on such hit shows as “ER,” “Dave’s World” and “The Steve Harvey Show.” Shortly thereafter, she had a recurring role on two WB hit shows, “Sister, Sister” and “7th Heaven.” Union stirred things up when she guest starred as a love interest to both ‘Joey’ (Matt LeBlanc) and ‘Ross’ (David Schwimmer) on “Friends.” With this role, Union marked the first African-American love interest on the series. She also joined the cast of Steven Bochco’s “City of Angels” for one season. Union was seen on ABC’s “Flash Forward,” NBC’s “Life” and ABC’s “Ugly Betty.” In addition, she starred in ABC’s critically acclaimed series “Night Stalker” opposite Stuart Townsend and was also seen in HBO’s award-winning “Something the Lord Made,” opposite Alan Rickman, Kyra Sedgwick and Mos Def.

Union’s passion for acting is rivaled by her involvement as an Ambassador for the Susan G. Komen Foundation as well as her support for the Young Survivor Coalition (YSC) and the Rape Treatment Center (RTC) at UCLA. In her free time, Union often travels on behalf of Susan G. Komen and the YSC to share her story of losing a friend to Breast Cancer and inspires others as well as visits the RTC to talk to young women. She also helped found a program called “A Step for Success” in 2004 which helps to raise funds for the economically challenged Kelso Elementary School in Los Angeles. The program holds fundraisers to help pay for books, classroom supplies and many other daily needs that teachers have fallen burden to paying for themselves.

Union currently serves as a brand ambassador for Neutrogena, featured in its national television and print campaigns. She has been acting as spokesperson since 2004.

Native of Nebraska, Union currently splits her time between Los Angeles and Miami.