Gabrielle Union on Embracing Vulnerability, Moving Through Creative Blocks, and No Longer Going 50/50

#281: In this episode, I sit down with the amazing Gabrielle Union—actress, producer, entrepreneur, and bestselling author—about what leaning into vulnerability really looks like.

From fertility to relationships to creating a life full of love and creativity, Gabrielle shares the lessons she wishes she’d known sooner—and wisdom to inspire you to get more curious and vulnerable.

We also talk about:

• How reading fosters creativity and curiosity
• Why the on-screen adaptations of your favorite reads often differ from the book
• How to express creativity without worrying about who will consume it
• What Gabrielle would tell her 30-year old self

Resources:

• Check out Gabrielle’s new movie Riff Raff in theaters now
• Follow Gabrielle on Instagram
• Atonement by Ian McEwan
• Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
• Subscribe to my Substack, Balance with Les

Keep in touch with Balanced Black Girl:

• Shop limited-edition Balanced Black Girl merch
• Watch on YouTube @BalancedBlackGirl
• Follow on IG: @balancedles @balancedblackgirlpodcast
• Follow on TikTok @balancedles
• Visit our website at balancedblackgirl.com

Sponsors:

• Timeline Nutrition | Mitopure® promotes cellular renewal and mitochondrial health to address common signs of aging. Go to timeline.com/BALANCEDLES for 10% off your order.
• Deinde | Fight inflammaging with Deinde skincare. Go to deinde.com and use code BALANCEDLES at check out for 15% off your first purchase.
• Seed | Take care of your gut health with Seed. Go to Seed.com/balancedles and use code BALANCEDLES to get 25% off your first month.
• Rocky Money | Rockey Money is a personal finance app that finds and cancels your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so that you can grow your savings. Stop wasting money on things you don’t use. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to www.rocketmoney.com/balancedles
• Honeylove | Treat yourself to the most comfortable bra on earth and save 20% Off sitewide at honeylove.com/BALANCEDLES
• NOCD offers accessible OCD treatment. Go to Learn.NOCD.com and schedule a free 15-minute call with their team.

Produced by.css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}