Gabourey Sidibe has the type of rags-to-riches story that Hollywood seems to specialise in. The 27-year old actress was plucked from obscurity when she landed the title role in Precious, an adaptation of the novel Push by Sapphire. The performance earned the debutante an Oscar nomination, and since then her life has been an endless stream of glamorous parties and cool acting gigs.
She says that this transformation seems "much grander for outsiders, but to me it's just life". Since the Oscars, Sidibe has been working hard, too. "I've made the TV show The Big C and am in the film Yelling to the Sky and am doing the film Tower Heist now."
In addition to the acting work, she has hosted Saturday Night Live, which is a sure sign that you've made it as an entertainer in America. Her debut role saw her nominated for an Oscar, becoming only the eighth African-American woman to be nominated for the biggest prize in acting.
No wonder when the actress- who likes to be called Gabby - talks about her career she says: "I love it. I never wanted to be an actress - not ever. But once it kind of fell in my lap, I can't go back to a real life. I want to do more."
She laughs, though, at the story that she was down and out and happened on to the Precious role by a chance meeting with director Lee Daniels.
The star says: "Lee is so dramatic. He likes to tell it like I was found on the corner of 144 and Lennox and that I was living in a refrigerator box. I was not. I went to an audition in a college in the Bronx, a friend of mine told me about it, and they were looking for a certain type of girl and a lot of people didn't meet the physical requirements, and my friend called me and thought I should go in.
"I went to an audition in a college in the Bronx. I never went to that school and on a whim I just went in and got the part. When Mr Daniels told me he wanted me to be in the film, I was crying that I had the part. I was like, 'stop playing.'"
One of her co-stars in Precious is Lenny Kravitz, and there is a link with the rock star in her new film Yelling to the Sky. It stars the singer's daughter Zoe Kravitz, although it was Daniels rather than Lenny Kravitz who first introduced the pair. Zoe Kravitz was interning at the director's office when Daniels first met Sidibe. Kravitz recalls the director running home and showing the audition tape to everyone. The young actresses then became fast friends, partying together at Sundance when Precious first aired and hanging out, and it was a coincidence that both had already committed to doing Yelling to the Sky.
Sidibe agreed to the role in the directorial debut from former actress Victoria Mahoney before the success of Precious. There are many similarities in the storyline between the two films, but instead of playing the victim, Sidibe is cast as a brutal bully who picks on Kravitz's character, Sweetness O'Hara.
The semi-autobiographical tale of a mixed-race girl growing up in Queens, New York, is about the struggle of Sweetness to beat poverty and the unstable world she grows up in. Sweetness turns to crime to help pay her way and in doing so earns the respect of her peers.
But acting with her friend Kravitz was not the pleasure that Sidibe envisioned: "Being mean to each other is definitely not a plus because I love Zoe. That's a strange aspect of being in this film together because we are enemies and that can get really strange - we are both sensitive people with plenty of emotion and the emotion that we have to reach in order to have this fight is very hard to get into with someone I love and someone I care about. Nonetheless, it was really cool to hang out on set and be able to do girl talk. That was the best part for me."
The actors got so involved in their characters that Sidibe admits that she and Kravitz cried when the cameras stopped rolling.
The downside of fame is that Sidibe is finding it increasingly difficult to live a normal life. Even going out to the shops can be troubling. "I walk around New York," she says. "I shop, I ride around with my friends and I ride buses and stuff like that, but I do it at a much slower pace because every fifth person I have to hug, or sign autographs for and take pictures with and things like that. Sometimes I wear a hat and sunglasses so I don't have to do it as much. I try to hide but for some reason it doesn't always work. I was at some random store and I was wearing a hat, sunglasses and a turtleneck sweater, and all you could see was my chin and someone says 'Are you Gabby?' and I was like really, how do you know? And they said: 'I recognise this chin'.
"How do you recognise anyone from that? I'm as normal as you can possibly be for someone who was on every TV screen last year."
One thing that shines through when chatting to Sidibe is that she always has a smile on her face. It's almost as though she can't quite believe she's a star, but now that she is, she's going to enjoy every second she can. She says: "I find humour in the tragedy of things that I have been through and it helps me find humour in all aspects of life. People don't realise how much choice they have in life, you can choose to be happy or you can choose to be sad. It's so much more work to be sad. It's so much work to be humourless and depressed. It's so much easier to make jokes all the time, it really is."
Her next role will utilise her comic skills as she is starring in the comedy Tower Heist, directed by Brett Ratner and starring Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick and Casey Affleck. All she says that she can reveal about the film is that it is about a group of thieves who decide to take money from the richest man with offices in a skyscraper, and she gets entangled in the affair. The biggest challenging for the actress was trying to hold her own against Eddie Murphy. "I was really worried because a lot of my scenes are with Eddie Murphy and whenever I think about Eddie Murphy, I think about Eddie Murphy Raw and how genius it is," she recounts. "He has that red leather suit and he is so funny and off the cuff I was so nervous about what it would be like to film with him."
Tower Heist is set to be released in November. Who knows how much more Sidibe's life will have changed by then.
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THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE results
Lost to Oman by eight runs
Beat Namibia by three wickets
Lost to Oman by 12 runs
Beat Namibia by 43 runs
UAE fixtures
Free admission. All fixtures broadcast live on icc.tv
Tuesday March 15, v PNG at Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Friday March 18, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
Saturday March 19, v PNG at Dubai International Stadium
Monday March 21, v Nepal at Dubai International Stadium
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
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- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
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Tori Amos
Native Invader
Decca
UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Fixture and table
UAE finals day: Friday, April 13 at Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
- 3pm, UAE Conference: Dubai Tigers v Sharjah Wanderers
- 6.30pm, UAE Premiership: Dubai Exiles v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Premiership – final standings
- Dubai Exiles
- Abu Dhabi Harlequins
- Jebel Ali Dragons
- Dubai Hurricanes
- Dubai Sports City Eagles
- Abu Dhabi Saracens
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Day 4, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Not much was expected – on Sunday or ever – of Hasan Ali as a batsman. And yet he lit up the late overs of the Pakistan innings with a happy cameo of 29 from 25 balls. The highlight was when he launched a six right on top of the netting above the Pakistan players’ viewing area. He was out next ball.
Stat of the day – 1,358 There were 1,358 days between Haris Sohail’s previous first-class match and his Test debut for Pakistan. The lack of practice in the multi-day format did not show, though, as the left-hander made an assured half-century to guide his side through a potentially damaging collapse.
The verdict As is the fashion of Test matches in this country, the draw feels like a dead-cert, before a clatter of wickets on the fourth afternoon puts either side on red alert. With Yasir Shah finding prodigious turn now, Pakistan will be confident of bowling Sri Lanka out. Whether they have enough time to do so and chase the runs required remains to be seen.
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Keane on …
Liverpool’s Uefa Champions League bid: “They’re great. With the attacking force they have, for me, they’re certainly one of the favourites. You look at the teams left in it - they’re capable of scoring against anybody at any given time. Defensively they’ve been good, so I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t go on and win it.”
Mohamed Salah’s debut campaign at Anfield: “Unbelievable. He’s been phenomenal. You can name the front three, but for him on a personal level, he’s been unreal. He’s been great to watch and hopefully he can continue now until the end of the season - which I’m sure he will, because he’s been in fine form. He’s been incredible this season.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s instant impact at former club LA Galaxy: “Brilliant. It’s been a great start for him and for the club. They were crying out for another big name there. They were lacking that, for the prestige of LA Galaxy. And now they have one of the finest stars. I hope they can go win something this year.”
Fight card
1. Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) v Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK)
2. Featherweight: Hussein Salim (IRQ) v Shakhriyor Juraev (UZB)
3. Catchweight 80kg: Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Khamza Yamadaev (RUS)
4. Lightweight: Ho Taek-oh (KOR) v Ronald Girones (CUB)
5. Lightweight: Arthur Zaynukov (RUS) v Damien Lapilus (FRA)
6. Bantamweight: Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) v Furkatbek Yokubov (RUS)
7. Featherweight: Movlid Khaybulaev (RUS) v Zaka Fatullazade (AZE)
8. Flyweight: Shannon Ross (TUR) v Donovon Freelow (USA)
9. Lightweight: Mohammad Yahya (UAE) v Dan Collins (GBR)
10. Catchweight 73kg: Islam Mamedov (RUS) v Martun Mezhulmyan (ARM)
11. Bantamweight World title: Jaures Dea (CAM) v Xavier Alaoui (MAR)
12. Flyweight World title: Manon Fiorot (FRA) v Gabriela Campo (ARG)
Ferrari
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THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
