Betty Gabriel facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Betty Gabriel
Gabriel in 2019
Born	(1981-01-06) January 6, 1981 (age 44) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Education	Iowa State University (BS) Juilliard School (MFA)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2004–present

Betty Gabriel (born January 6, 1981) is an American actress. She is well-known for her roles in scary movies, especially those made by Blumhouse. Because of these roles, she is sometimes called a "scream queen." This means she is great at acting in horror films. She has been nominated for several awards, including two Black Reel Awards, an NAACP Image Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Betty Gabriel started her acting journey in musical theater. Her first screen role was in a short film called In Memoriam (2011). She later played Laney Rucker in the action movie The Purge: Election Year (2016). She became very famous for her role as Georgina in the horror film Get Out (2017). The New York Times even said her acting in that movie was one of the best of 2017!

She has also appeared in other exciting films. These include Nari in the horror movie Unfriended: Dark Web (2018), Detective Cortez in the future-themed film Upgrade (2018), Deeks in the drama Adopt a Highway (2019), and Joyce in the horror film It Lives Inside (2023).

On TV, Betty Gabriel has played many different characters. She was Denise in the show Good Girls Revolt (2016) and Maling in the future-world series Westworld (2018). She also played Naya Temple in the science fiction show Counterpart (2018–2019). More recently, she was Pam Duffy in the mini-series Defending Jacob (2020), Sophie Brewer in Clickbait (2021), and Elizabeth Wright in Jack Ryan (2022–2023).

Early Life and Education

Betty Gabriel was born on January 6, 1981, in Washington, D.C.. She grew up in different places, including Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Hyattsville, Maryland.

In 2002, she earned a degree in Animal Science from Iowa State University. After college, Betty moved to Chicago. There, she studied modern dance and started acting in local theaters. Later, in 2014, she earned a special degree in drama from the famous Juilliard.

Her Acting Journey

Betty Gabriel started acting in theater while she was at Iowa State University. After college, she worked as an actress and dancer in Chicago. Her first movie role was in the 2011 drama In Memoriam.

She began her TV career with smaller roles in shows like Good Girls Revolt and Westworld. Her first big movie role was in the 2016 horror film The Purge: Election Year. In this movie, her character helped people think about whether the "American dream" was really a "nightmare" for some, much like her role in Get Out.

Get Out and Beyond

Betty was on vacation when she got the chance to audition for Get Out. To get ready for her role, she watched a TEDx talk by Martin Pistorius. This helped her understand what it might feel like to be trapped inside your own body. She also watched the classic movie Bride of Frankenstein. She even talked to her own grandmother, who grew up in Alabama, about racial tensions from her grandmother's younger days.

Get Out was a huge success with both critics and audiences. Betty's performance was highly praised. Many people even thought she might be nominated for an Oscar! The New York Times called her role as Georgina one of the best performances of 2017.

After Get Out, Betty Gabriel starred with Logan Marshall-Green in the sci-fi action horror film Upgrade (2018). This movie was filmed in Australia. In 2017, she joined the cast of Westworld as the character Maling. In 2018, it was announced she would join the second season of Counterpart as an FBI agent.

In 2021, Betty Gabriel lent her voice to the animated horror film The Spine of Night. Later that year, she continued her work in the horror genre by playing Sophie Brewer in the Netflix mini-series Clickbait. Even though some critics didn't love the show, many people watched it. It was streamed for over a billion minutes in just one week!

Betty has also appeared in the Apple TV+ series Manhunt. She also had a regular role in the TV series Jack Ryan for its third season in 2022.

Film Roles

Television Roles

Theater Performances

• 2004: Black Nativity by Langston Hughes at Goodman Theatre (Chicago, Illinois)
• 2008: Space by Laura Jacqmin at Side Project Theatre (Chicago, Illinois)
• 2008: Pluto Was a Planet by Laura Jacqmin at Around the Coyote Gallery (Chicago, Illinois)
• 2009: The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare at Chase Park Theatre (Chicago, Illinois)

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Betty Gabriel para niños