Betty Gabriel
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Juilliard School (MFA)
Betty Gabriel | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Gabriel in 2019 | |
| Born | January 6, 1981 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Education | Iowa State University (BS) Juilliard School (MFA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2001–present |
Betty Gabriel (born January 6, 1981) is an American actress. After acting in the Chicago theatre scene of the early 2000s, Gabriel became known for starring in horror films produced by Blumhouse, which established her as a scream queen.[1][2][3]
Gabriel achieved commercial success with the horror films The Purge: Election Year (2016) and Get Out (2017); her portrayal of a housekeeper in the latter netted a career breakthrough. Her continued horror roles include the films Unfriended: Dark Web (2018) and It Lives Inside (2023), and the miniseries Clickbait (2021). She also stars in the action film Upgrade (2018), the drama film Adopt a Highway (2019), and the comedy film Novocaine (2025).
On television, Gabriel appears in the period drama series Good Girls Revolt (2016), the dystopian series Westworld (2018), the science fiction series Counterpart (2018–2019), the miniseries Defending Jacob (2020), and the action series Jack Ryan (2022–2023).
Gabriel was born January 6, 1981, in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and in Hyattsville, Maryland.[4] In 2002, Gabriel received a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science from Iowa State University.[5] After college, Gabriel relocated to Chicago, studying modern dance and working as an actress in the Chicago theater community.[6][7] In 2014, she graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in drama from Juilliard.[8]
Career
After doing a bit of theater at Iowa State University,[9] Gabriel got her start working as an actress and dancer in Chicago theater, first as part of her further studies, and then in various productions.[6][10] Gabriel's first film role was in the 2011 drama In Memoriam.[1] She began her career as a television actress with minor recurring roles in Good Girls Revolt and Westworld before landing her first major film role in the 2016 horror sequel The Purge: Election Year.[4][11]
Gabriel was on vacation when she was invited to audition for Get Out. Her character allows viewers to consider whether "the American dream" has become "the American nightmare" for many African-Americans.[12][13] To prepare for the role, Gabriel watched the TEDx talk of Martin Pistorius to get insight into the feeling of being trapped inside one's own body.[14] She also watched Bride of Frankenstein and talked to her own grandmother, who was raised in Alabama, about racial tensions from her era.[15] Get Out was a critical and commercial success, and her performance was discussed as a contender for Best Supporting Actress for the 2018 Academy Awards by Variety and The New York Times;[16][17] the latter publication cited her work among of the best performances of the year.[18]
In 2017, Gabriel joined the cast of Westworld as the character Maling.[19] In February 2018, it was announced she would join the second season of Counterpart playing an FBI agent.[20] She also starred opposite Logan Marshall-Green in the sci-fi action horror film Upgrade (2018), written and directed by Leigh Whannell, and shot on location in Melbourne, Australia.[21][22][23]
In March 2021, Gabriel had a role in the animated horror film The Spine of Night, written and directed by Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King.[24] Later in August 2021, she continued her career in the horror genre by playing the role of Sophie Brewer in the Netflix miniseries Clickbait (2021), co-written by Christian White and Tony Ayres,[25] and despite the miniseries receiving a 59% on Rotten Tomatoes,[26] it received 1.46 billion minutes of watchtime in one week following its debut.[27]
Gabriel also appeared in the Apple TV+ limited series Manhunt,[28][29] as well as having a recurring role in the TV series Jack Ryan for its third season[30] in 2022.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Maidenhead | Isabeau | Short film |
| 2011 | In Memoriam | Kayla | |
| 2013 | He's Way More Famous Than You | Hairstylist | |
| The Story of Your Life | Houston | ||
| 2015 | Experimenter | Sally | |
| 2016 | The Purge: Election Year | Laney Rucker | |
| 2017 | Get Out | Georgina/Marianne Armitage | |
| Beyond Skyline | Jones | ||
| 2018 | Diverted Eden | Shirley | |
| Unfriended: Dark Web | Nari Jemisin | ||
| Upgrade | Det. Cortez | ||
| 2019 | Adopt a Highway | Deeks | |
| Human Capital | Ronnie Manning | ||
| 2021 | The Spine of Night | Phae-Agura | |
| 2023 | It Lives Inside | Joyce Dixon | |
| 2025 | Novocaine | Mincy Langston | |
| 2026 | Jack Ryan: Ghost War | Elizabeth Wright | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Good Girls Revolt | Denise | Recurring role |
| 12 Deadly Days | Willow Russell | Main role; miniseries | |
| 2018 | Westworld | Maling | Recurring role; 4 episodes |
| 2018–2019 | Counterpart | Naya Temple | Main role |
| 2019 | The Twilight Zone | Herself | Episode: "Blurryman" |
| 2020 | Defending Jacob | Pam Duffy | Main role; miniseries |
| 2021 | Clickbait | Sophie Brewer | |
| 2022–2023 | Jack Ryan | Elizabeth Wright | Main role (seasons 3–4) |
| 2024 | Manhunt | Elizabeth Keckley | Recurring role; 3 episodes |
Theater
- 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)[31][32]
- 2009: The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare at Chase Park Theatre (Chicago, Illinois)[33]
