Speaking to HuffPost Live last week, the 42-year-old star of Bad Boys 2 and Bring It On, said “it’s very limited, period” for women with darker skin in the entertainment industry.
“And when you add in women of colour or women of colour over a size 4, women of colour with darker skin tones, women of colour who want to rock natural hair, it becomes more and more limited. I have not seen that change,” she added.
The talented actress said that while roles on film were scarce for black women, more and more women with darker skin were being cast on popular television programs. She said director and producer, Shonda Rhimes, had made a difference by casting African-American women including Viola Davis and Kerry Washington in shows like Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder.
“Success breeds more opportunity,” Gabrielle said. “With the success of ‘Scandal,’ with the success of ‘How To Get Away With Murder,’ — basically Shonda has taken over the most important night of television with a very diverse cast of characters.”
