Ladies and Gentleman…Gabourey Sidibe

More often than not, when asked to describe a female Hollywood celebrity, the most common responses are “blown out hair, radiant skin, perfectly manicured, designer everything and thin, thin, thin!” It is about time that someone praises a famous female who does not necessarily follow the guidelines for “perfect” celebrity appearance, but goes beyond her duties to inspire others to believe in themselves and rise above the critiques of others.

This January, at the Golden Globes, Gabourey Sidibe was absolutely stunning in her satin, ivory gown, encrusted with sparkling gemstones. She perfected her look with a matching handbag, and a timeless, almost Titanic-esque hair style – curled, sophisticated, subtle. In every picture, she radiates confidence. She is poised, shoulders back, flaunting the body she is proud of.

It is shameful that after the awards ceremony, a night meant to honor work not looks, she faced comments like “Clearly Gabby’s stylist doesn’t like her and has no problem stealing her money.” The hatred in this comment is beyond disrespectful and entirely uninformed. I am happy to report that she took the higher ground and simply stated “To people making mean comments about my GG pics, I mos def cried about it on that private jet on my way to my dream job last night.” She knows what is important in life. How she feels about herself, and how successful she is in impacting the lives of others through her work, is her focus.

To her provincial audiences, Sidibe is the girl who wears daring outfits that should be left in a closet. Most argue that she has no business flaunting herself. But who is anyone to tell her otherwise? Sidibe is beyond accomplished. She starred in the 2009 film, Precious, and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She has also starred in Showtime, The Big C., American Horror Story: Coven and American Horror Story: Freak Show.

One day I decided that I was beautiful, and so I carried out my life as if I was a beautiful girl. I wear clothes that I really like, I wear makeup that makes me feel pretty, and it really helps. It doesn’t have anything to do with how the world perceives you. What matters is what you see.

~ Gabourey Sidibe

Not only has Gabourey continued to strive for success in her “dream job,” but she does so with an air of sophistication. She keeps a vibrant wardrobe and dares to wear vibrant make up because it makes her feel good about herself. Her self-esteem alone acts as a role model, proving that beauty truly comes from the inside and shines on the outside.

Beyond her film accomplishments, Gabourey recently gave a speech at the Gloria Awards and Gala, that was a blend of comedy, sass, heartache, raw emotion and beautiful inspiration. The full speech can be found at the following website, but I have pulled some heartfelt segments out for your viewing pleasure.

http://www.vulture.com/2014/05/read-gabourey-sidibes-ms-gala-speech.html

‘I’m so excited to be here. Really, really excited. Okay, I’ll get to it. Hi. One of the first things people usually ask me is, “Gabourey, how are you so confident?” I hate that. I always wonder if that’s the first thing they ask Rihanna when they meet her. “RiRi! How are you so confident?” Nope. No. No. But me? They ask me with that same incredulous disbelief every single time. “You seem so confident! How is that?”’

‘”Gabourey, how are you so confident?” It’s not easy. It’s hard to get dressed up for award shows and red carpets when I know I will be made fun of because of my weight. There’s always a big chance if I wear purple, I will be compared to Barney. If I wear white, a frozen turkey. And if I wear red, that pitcher of Kool-Aid that says, “Oh, yeah!” Twitter will blow up with nasty comments about how the recent earthquake was caused by me running to a hot dog cart or something.  And “Diet or Die?” [She gives the finger to that]  This is what I deal with every time I put on a dress. This is what I deal with every time someone takes a picture of me. Sometimes when I’m being interviewed by a fashion reporter, I can see it in her eyes, “How is she getting away with this? Why is she so confident? How does she deal with that body? Oh my God, I’m going to catch fat!”’

‘[Dabs tears] If I hadn’t been told I was garbage, I wouldn’t have learned how to show people I’m talented. And if everyone had always laughed at my jokes, I wouldn’t have figures out how to be so funny. I they hadn’t told me I was ugly, I never would have searched for my beauty. And if they hadn’t tried to break me down, I wouldn’t know that I’m unbreakable. [Dabs tears]’

This world can be unbearably cruel. In America especially, society has a tendency to refuse to break superficial barriers. No one should have to live their life constantly questioning how they will be judged based upon their looks. There is so much more to this life. However, since I do not see society rising above this obstacle just yet, there is still a valuable lesson to be found in Sidibe’s eloquent words. With every hardship that we face in this lifetime, we can make one of two choices. We can let this world tear us down, or we can fight back and allow the cruelty of this world to build us into the people that we are meant to be. Through hardship, we can find our beauty and strength. It is mind over matter, and Sidibe is a true inspiration, proving that anything is possible.

So maybe she doesn’t have the perfect body…then again perfect is relative. Her exuberant confidence is all the more perfect she needs to be.

She looks fierce in this bluish purple dress, tastefully bedazzled. She stands out amongst the black suit and dresses in the crowd behind her. She is beautiful and she is absolutely right to bear no shame.

And she rocks this photo shoot. Her skin remains flawless, her hair flowing in the wind. The photo is funny, messy and sophisticated. She is a genius in front of the camera.

Thank you, Gabourey, for maintaining your sassy, witty personality, and not letting the harsh, imperfect world, break down your perfect self-esteem.