'Precious' star Gabourey Sidibe on directorial debut, being twin mom, and feeling more joy
Gabourey Sidibe isn’t rewinding her life — she’s fast-forwarding with intention, joy, and a director’s chair to match.
The Oscar-nominated actress is stepping into a powerful new era with her directorial debut for Mary J. Blige Presents: “Be Happy,” out February 7 on Lifetime. At the "Love of A Lifetime” premiere on Jan. 27, Sidibe opened up to Pause/Rewind entertainment reporter Courtney Tezeno about why this moment feels perfectly timed — and why she’s happier now than ever before.
“This is the time,” Sidibe said of moving behind the camera. “I’m always looking for agency in my work Lifetime said, ‘What else do you want to do?’ And I told them, I want to direct. And here I am.”
“Be Happy” follows Val (Tisha Campbell), a devoted wife and stay-at-home mom approaching 50 who is eager to reconnect with her husband Ross (Russell Hornsby) after their youngest leaves for college. The project resonated deeply on a personal level for Sidibe. While the film explores the emotional journey of an empty nester, Sidibe was navigating the opposite — early motherhood with twins.
“My twins were, I think, 15 months old. We started shooting, and I was just at the beginning of losing myself to motherhood I forgot that I was anything else,” she shared. “This woman is finding herself and reminding me that there’s more to life than just being a mother It is not everything that I am.”
Motherhood, she says, has reshaped her understanding of purpose and joy, especially when it comes to the example she wants to set for her children, Cooper and Maya Frankel.
“I remember I have to give her an example of what joy and fulfillment look like,” Sidibe explained. “They’re free I want them to see and feel and understand a life where they come first.”
That clarity has transformed the “Precious” star’s career, too. “Joy is really being able to say yes to projects that make me feel something that make me feel safe and supported,” she started, “And saying no to what doesn't feel good if I feel like it's making fun of someone, if I feel like I'm going to have an icky feeling at the end of the day, it's not worth doing.”
When asked if she could rewind to an era in life, Sidibe says she isn’t interested, but wouldn't mind reliving a 2018 Ghana trip she went on before getting married to hubby Brandon Frankel.
“I was single. I hadn't met my husband yet. I did have a cat. I was a cat mom, but I was free, uninhibited,” she said. “That was the last place I really explored as a single woman. And I would go back there only so that I could do it a little harder.”
The actress joked, “I guess I would bring back $600 rent,” she laughed. “Bring back the times when we can afford homes.”
