Gabrielle Union Celebrates Her 52nd Birthday by Stripping Down: ‘This Is Me at 52’
Gabrielle Union is baring it all in a new photo she shared in honor of her 52nd birthday.
“This is 52. This is grown woman s—. This is being accountable for mess ups,” Union captioned a Tuesday, October 29, carousel of photos that included a nude snap of her standing under a shower. “Being gracious when others mess up. Being open to being wrong and being proud and confident when you are right.”
Union went on to share that she is “loving passionately and unapologetically” while also setting “clear and firm boundaries.”
“This is sexy. This is audacious,” she continued. “This is fun and full of wild adventures. This is calling a thing a thing and not falling for the okey doke and demanding better. This is being alone without being lonely. This is enjoying nature. This is fierce and compassionate motherhood. This is fighting for my people and yours. This is me at 52. Loving ALL of me.”
The Bring It On actress also celebrated her birthday by sharing Instagram Story posts with her family, including a photo of her and husband Dwyane Wade and their 5-year-old daughter, Kaavia, posing with a birthday cake. (Wade also shares Zaire, 22, and Zaya, 17, with ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches and Xavier, 10, with Aja Metoyer.)
Last month, Union celebrated another big milestone: 10 years of marriage to Wade, 42. To honor the special occasion, Union shared social media clips of herself performing Shania Twain’s 1997 ballad “You’re Still the One” for Wade.
“Whenever anyone asks me what I want as a gift, I always say ‘effort’ So this year I wanted to show him how much he means to me, with loving effort. Cuz, he’s STILL the one 💖,” she captioned the post.
Wade and Union met in 2007 while cohosting a sponsored Super Bowl party and quickly hit it off. Despite briefly calling it quits in early 2013, the couple got engaged in December 2013 and tied the knot in August 2014. They welcomed daughter Kaavia in 2018 via surrogate.
Earlier this year, Union got candid about how her age-gap romance led her to adapt The Idea of You, a film which centers around Solène, a 40-year-old woman who falls in love with a 24-year-old musician.
“Being inspired by Robinne [Lee’s] book and knowing that Solène’s story was a very specific story,” Union shared during a post-screening Q&A in April. “I was like ‘I want in.’ I live this! I’ve got a younger man with a big life.”
For Union, a specific scene where Solène vacations with a younger crowd reminded her of her own travel experiences with Wade.
“She comes with her things because she’s worried about sun protection and all the sorts,” Union explained. “I love it because it reminds me of when I vacation with some of my husband’s friends. It’s like, ‘Oh, so no one’s heard of Jefferson Airplane?’”
