It’s been 17 years since Precious debuted.
The Lee Daniels drama follows the story of how Claireece Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe), a 16-year-old living in Harlem, escapes her sexually abusive father, with whom she has had two children, and her physically and verbally abusive mother.
In a new episode of the One54 Africa podcast, Sidibe was brought to tears as she rewatched her audition for the role for the first time in years.
She spoke about how much her life and self-perception has changed since then, as well as how much her younger self reminds her of her 1-year-old daughter.
“I love my face so much, and I didn't love it as much then. I love it. I love it now. And I think I love it so much because I see my mom too. And I see my daughter, and it's crazy,” Sidibe explained.
Sidibe and her husband, Brandon Frankel, welcomed twins Maya and Cooper in April 2024.
She then described her daughter, Maya’s, complexion as “white.”
“My son got all the melanin,” Sidibe said, “And my daughter is very, very, very fair-skinned. Her hair is coarse, but she's very fair. But her facial features, her cheeks, she has my chin. I wonder how much she's going to look like me. And she's going to have a different life than me. … Things are going to be different for her.”
“But I think about how young and little I was. I was a baby. My brain was mashed potatoes back then,” Sidibe added. “And that girl, her life was completely different than it is today. And the way she felt about her life, the way she felt about the world, the way she felt about herself was so small, was so, so small and so unhealed. And I am so grateful for her.”
She said the audition tape, filmed was when she was 24, also triggered her “actor and director brain” and reminded her of meeting Lee.
“I'm already thinking of how his direction changed that scene for me and the way I delivered it,” Sidibe said.
In 2010, she received an Academy Award nomination for best actress for Precious, her first film. While Sidibe didn’t win the category, her co-star Mo’Nique won best supporting actress, and Geoffrey S. Fletcher won best adapted screenplay for Precious.