Gabrielle Reece
Encyclopedia
Gabrielle Allyse Reece is an American professional volleyball
player, sports announcer, fashion model
and actress.
. She returned to the U.S. mainland for the eleventh grade, when she took up sports. She accepted a volleyball scholarship
from the Florida State University
, where she major
ed in communication
s, and in volleyball she led the league in kills four times and blocks once. In 1989, she moved to New York City to pursue more rigorously a parallel career as a sports fashion model and also continue in her pro volleyball career. In 1997, she was selected for induction into the Florida State University Athletic Hall of Fame. Reece set two school volleyball records in solo blocks (240) and total blocks (747), both of which still stand. FSU inducted Reece into the Florida State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997. Her father, who was Afro-Trinidadian "a native of Trinidad and Tobago
", was killed in a plane crash when Gabrielle was five.
For four consecutive years, Reece was the WBVL kills leader from 1993-1996. She was named the Offensive Player of the Year in 1994-95, and the League blocks leader in 1993. She also competed domestically in the 1999-2000 Olympic Challenge Series, the 1999-2000 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, and other competitions.
Reece trained in golf for four years hoping to make it onto the LPGA but was unsuccessful. In 2009, she said, "... with young children, I simply didn't have the time for such a demanding game".
as one of the five most beautiful women in the world. She appeared in several Elle layouts in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She has appeared on the covers of Outside
, Shape, Women's Sports & Fitness, Elle, and Life. She appeared on the cover of Playboy
, with an accompanying nude pictorial, in January 2001. Reece had previously made a cameo appearance as herself on the HBO series Arliss
in which, ironically, she angrily reprimanded her agent for even suggesting she accept an offer to pose nude for Playboy.
about her life as a pro athlete entitled Big Girl in the Middle, published by Crown (1997). She also wrote a column for Condé Nast
's magazine Women's Sports & Fitness, and has been a contributing editor at Elle magazine. For several years, Reece hosted ESPN
and NBC
's Gravity Games
, where she participated in road-luging, white water kayaking
, drag racing
, surfing, sky diving, and more on MTV Sports
(1993–95), and The Extremists with Gabrielle Reece (1995–96). She was also a commentator at the 1998 Goodwill Games
.
Reece recently reunited with Nike as a spokeswoman, and she is a new expert and writer for Yahoo-Health
. Reece also produced an infomercial for a health and fitness product, "The Primal System" with fitness expert Paul Chek, and hosted Insider Training for Fit TV/Discovery
, in which she interviewed professional athletes about their training & conditioning regimens.
As an actress, Reece played the role of a physical trainer in the film Gattaca
(1997) and a pro beach volleyball player in Cloud Nine with Burt Reynolds
(in 2004). She guest-starred on TV series North Shore
(2004) and 8 Simple Rules
(2005). She also appeared as a guest on Extreme Makeover Home Edition and America's Next Top Model
and The Tyra Banks Show
. In 2007, Reece and her husband Laird Hamilton
, appeared in the ABC reality television
series Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race
, featuring a dozen celebrities in a stock car racing competition. In the first round of competition, she matched up against the former NFL
coach Bill Cowher
and the actor William Shatner
.
In 2008, she released Gabrielle Reece: Fit & Healthy Prenatal Workouts with exercise guru Mike Monroe. For 2008, Reece was the spokeswoman for Simply Nutrilite, a line developed by Quixtar
.
Laird Hamilton
. She filed for divorce in January 2001, but reconciled a year later. They have two children together: daughters Reece Viola Hamilton (born in October 2003) and Brody Jo Hamilton (born on January 1, 2008 in Hawaii). She and Hamilton also are raising Izabella, Hamilton's daughter from a previous marriage. The Hamilton-Reece family splits time residing in Hawaii
and Malibu, California. In the latter, she is known as a member of the "Malibu Mob", a group of celebrity friends and neighbors that includes actor John Cusack
, hockey player Chris Chelios
, tennis player John McEnroe
, and actor John McGinley.
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
player, sports announcer, fashion model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
and actress.
Early life
Reece was born in La Jolla, California and raised in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin IslandsSaint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea and with the islands of Saint John, Saint Croix, and Water Island a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of...
. She returned to the U.S. mainland for the eleventh grade, when she took up sports. She accepted a volleyball scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
from the Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
, where she major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
ed in communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
s, and in volleyball she led the league in kills four times and blocks once. In 1989, she moved to New York City to pursue more rigorously a parallel career as a sports fashion model and also continue in her pro volleyball career. In 1997, she was selected for induction into the Florida State University Athletic Hall of Fame. Reece set two school volleyball records in solo blocks (240) and total blocks (747), both of which still stand. FSU inducted Reece into the Florida State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997. Her father, who was Afro-Trinidadian "a native of Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
", was killed in a plane crash when Gabrielle was five.
Volleyball career
After graduation, Reece played on professional volleyball tours for several years. That year, Reece's 4-man team took first place at the first-ever Beach Volleyball World Championships staged at the UCLA Tennis Center, in her fifth season as a team captain in the 4-person Women's Beach Volleyball League (WBVL), and fourth captaining Team Nike, which shared League Co-Championship.For four consecutive years, Reece was the WBVL kills leader from 1993-1996. She was named the Offensive Player of the Year in 1994-95, and the League blocks leader in 1993. She also competed domestically in the 1999-2000 Olympic Challenge Series, the 1999-2000 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, and other competitions.
Reece trained in golf for four years hoping to make it onto the LPGA but was unsuccessful. In 2009, she said, "... with young children, I simply didn't have the time for such a demanding game".
Modeling career
Reece began her modeling career while attending FSU. In 1989 she was named by ElleElle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...
as one of the five most beautiful women in the world. She appeared in several Elle layouts in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She has appeared on the covers of Outside
Outside (magazine)
Outside is an American magazine focused on the outdoors. The first issue debuted in September 1977 with its mission statement declaring that the publication was "dedicated to covering the people, sports and activities, politics, art, literature, and hardware of the outdoors..."Its founders were...
, Shape, Women's Sports & Fitness, Elle, and Life. She appeared on the cover of Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, with an accompanying nude pictorial, in January 2001. Reece had previously made a cameo appearance as herself on the HBO series Arliss
Arliss
-Criticism:This show, which ran for seven seasons, is a prime example of how HBO differs from traditional networks due to its nature as a network its viewers specifically pay to be able to watch. Arliss was cited by so many viewers as the sole reason that they paid for the network that its...
in which, ironically, she angrily reprimanded her agent for even suggesting she accept an offer to pose nude for Playboy.
Other work
Reece co-wrote a book with Karen KarboKaren Karbo
Karen Karbo is an award-winning American author.Born in Detroit, she is the author of three adult novels: Trespassers Welcome Here, The Diamond Lane, and Motherhood Made a Man Out of Me, all of which were named New York Times Notable Books...
about her life as a pro athlete entitled Big Girl in the Middle, published by Crown (1997). She also wrote a column for Condé Nast
Condé Nast Publications
Condé Nast, a division of Advance Publications, is a magazine publisher. In the U.S., it produces 18 consumer magazines, including Architectural Digest, Bon Appétit, GQ, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Vogue, as well as four business-to-business publications, 27 websites, and more than 50 apps...
's magazine Women's Sports & Fitness, and has been a contributing editor at Elle magazine. For several years, Reece hosted ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Gravity Games
Gravity Games
The Gravity Games were a multi-sport competition originating from Providence, Rhode Island that is broken down into Winter and Summer adaptations...
, where she participated in road-luging, white water kayaking
Kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...
, drag racing
Drag racing
Drag racing is a competition in which specially prepared automobiles or motorcycles compete two at a time to be the first to cross a set finish line, from a standing start, in a straight line, over a measured distance, most commonly a ¼-mile straight track....
, surfing, sky diving, and more on MTV Sports
MTV Sports
MTV Sports is a show that ran on MTV from 1992 to 1997. Dan Cortese hosts this Emmy-winning reality sports show featuring radical sports from around the country. It was later hosted by athlete/model Gabrielle Reece from 1993 to 1995....
(1993–95), and The Extremists with Gabrielle Reece (1995–96). She was also a commentator at the 1998 Goodwill Games
Goodwill Games
The Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s...
.
Reece recently reunited with Nike as a spokeswoman, and she is a new expert and writer for Yahoo-Health
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
. Reece also produced an infomercial for a health and fitness product, "The Primal System" with fitness expert Paul Chek, and hosted Insider Training for Fit TV/Discovery
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
, in which she interviewed professional athletes about their training & conditioning regimens.
As an actress, Reece played the role of a physical trainer in the film Gattaca
Gattaca
Gattaca is a 1997 science fiction film written and directed by Andrew Niccol. It stars Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Jude Law with supporting roles played by Loren Dean, Ernest Borgnine, Gore Vidal and Alan Arkin....
(1997) and a pro beach volleyball player in Cloud Nine with Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
(in 2004). She guest-starred on TV series North Shore
North Shore (TV series)
North Shore is an American prime-time soap opera that aired on Fox every Monday at 8 p.m. EST for seven months in 2004 and 2005...
(2004) and 8 Simple Rules
8 Simple Rules
8 Simple Rules is an American sitcom that originally aired on ABC from September 17, 2002, to April 15, 2005, with 76 episodes produced over three seasons. It is based on the self-improvement book of the same name. The show starred John Ritter until his death on September 11, 2003...
(2005). She also appeared as a guest on Extreme Makeover Home Edition and America's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model is a reality television show in which a number of women compete for the title of America's Next Top Model and a chance to start their career in the modeling industry....
and The Tyra Banks Show
The Tyra Banks Show
The Tyra Banks Show, also known as and shortened to Tyra or The Tyra Show, is an American talk show hosted by Tyra Banks. The last new episode aired on Friday, May 28, 2010.-2005-2009: Syndication:...
. In 2007, Reece and her husband Laird Hamilton
Laird Hamilton
Laird Hamilton is an American big-wave surfer, co-inventor of tow-in surfing, and an occasional fashion and action-sports model. He is married to Gabrielle Reece, a professional volleyball player, television personality, and model...
, appeared in the ABC reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race
Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race
Fast Cars & Superstars: Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race was an ABC reality television series featuring twelve celebrities in a stock car auto racing competition...
, featuring a dozen celebrities in a stock car racing competition. In the first round of competition, she matched up against the former NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
coach Bill Cowher
Bill Cowher
William Laird "Bill" Cowher is a former American football coach and player. Cowher resigned after 15 seasons as the Steelers' coach on January 5, 2007, 11 months to the day after winning 2005–06's Super Bowl XL...
and the actor William Shatner
William Shatner
William Alan Shatner is a Canadian actor, musician, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T...
.
In 2008, she released Gabrielle Reece: Fit & Healthy Prenatal Workouts with exercise guru Mike Monroe. For 2008, Reece was the spokeswoman for Simply Nutrilite, a line developed by Quixtar
Quixtar
Amway Global is a multi-level marketing or network marketing company, founded 1959 in Ada, Michigan, United States...
.
Personal life
On November 30, 1997, Gabrielle married the Hawaiian big-wave surferSurfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
Laird Hamilton
Laird Hamilton
Laird Hamilton is an American big-wave surfer, co-inventor of tow-in surfing, and an occasional fashion and action-sports model. He is married to Gabrielle Reece, a professional volleyball player, television personality, and model...
. She filed for divorce in January 2001, but reconciled a year later. They have two children together: daughters Reece Viola Hamilton (born in October 2003) and Brody Jo Hamilton (born on January 1, 2008 in Hawaii). She and Hamilton also are raising Izabella, Hamilton's daughter from a previous marriage. The Hamilton-Reece family splits time residing in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and Malibu, California. In the latter, she is known as a member of the "Malibu Mob", a group of celebrity friends and neighbors that includes actor John Cusack
John Cusack
John Paul Cusack is an American film actor and screenwriter. He has appeared in more than 50 films, including The Journey of Natty Gann, Say Anything..., Grosse Point Blank, The Thin Red Line, Stand by Me, Con Air, Being John Malkovich, High Fidelity, Serendipity, Runaway Jury, The Ice Harvest,...
, hockey player Chris Chelios
Chris Chelios
Christos Kostas Tselios is a retired American professional ice hockey defenseman. He is currently the Executive Advisor to Ken Holland, the general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, a role that Steve Yzerman held before leaving to become general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning.Chelios played...
, tennis player John McEnroe
John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe, Jr. is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won seven Grand Slam singles titles , nine Grand Slam men's doubles titles, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title...
, and actor John McGinley.
External links
- theHoneyLine.com official site