:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(596x422:598x424)/Gabrielle-Union-061625-84b49de0c92749e589d306b7852411dc.jpg?ssl=1 "Gabrielle Union Reveals the ‘Stupid’ Way She Spent Her First Big Paycheck")
NEED TO KNOW
- Gabrielle Union revealed what she bought with her first big checkout at the American Black Film Festival on June 12
- The actress and entrepreneur shared that, despite her dad’s advice, she purchased a specific new car with leather seats
- “Lemme tell you about leather seats in Los Angeles. Do you know I scorched myself every time I got out?” she recalled
Gabrielle Union opened up about how she spent her first big paycheck.
During a panel discussion at the American Black Film Festival in Miami on June 12, the Bring It On alum, 52, revealed her first major purchase.
“So stupid. I went on the Mazda lot. I’m like, ‘Oh, I’ve made it when I have a Mazda.’ My dad’s like, ‘Don’t buy a brand new car. It depreciates the second you drive it off the lot,’ ” recalled Union, whose film career took off in 1999 and 2000 amid the success of 10 Things I Hate About You, She’s All That, Love & Basketball and Bring It On.
Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/Getty
“I walked into Mazda and I bought myself a black on black Mazda Miata with leather seats,” she continued. “Lemme tell you about leather seats in Los Angeles. Do you know I scorched myself every time I got out? Yeah, that was my first purchase. And it depreciated the second I drove it off the lot!”
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Union shared the memory during her onstage discussion — titled “Sisterhood & Savings: A Conversation with Gabrielle Union” — moderated by Kelley L. Carter.
“I was able to chat with my sis … about money and more and ran into old friends and met some new ones,” Carter wrote on Instagram after the American Black Film Festival event.
Treyvon E. Eugene/Getty
Union and her husband, retired NBA star Dwyane Wade, have previously been open about discussing their finances. Wade, 43, and Union revealed a few years ago that they split their bills evenly, 50/50.
At the time, Wade also shared that he and Union signed a prenup before they married each other in August 2014.
During an appearance on the Club Shay Shay podcast in 2023, Wade said, “I told her the same way, ‘I’ll sign a prenup too. You’re a millionaire, you got money. You work hard for yourself.’ ”
