|
Gabrielle Reece Profile |
|
-
Birth Date: January 6, 1970
-
Birth Place: Trinidad
-
Birth Name: Gabrielle Reece
-
Height: 6'3"
|
|
|
Biography |
Gabrielle Reece was born on January 6, 1970 in La Jolla,
California, and spent her early years living on St. Thomas
in the Virgin Islands. By the age of 7, she had already
reached five feet in height. After relocating to St.
Petersburg, Florida, Gabby began playing volleyball at the
high school level. She earned an athletics scholarship to
Florida State University in 1987, and majored in
Communications.
Reece competed in volleyball as a Lady Seminole from 1987 to
1990, where she set season records for solo and total
blocks, and earned several All-Tournament honors. In her
junior year, Reece was named Most Inspiring Collegiate
Athlete in the country, and was inducted into Florida
State's Athletic Hall of Fame.
In early 1989, Reece began modeling for the Ford Agency of
New York, and before year's end, was selected by Elle
magazine as one of the five most beautiful women in the
world. She would go on to grace the covers of magazines such
as Harper's Bazaar, LIFE and Women's Sports & Fitness,
though volleyball always took precedence over everything
else, no matter how lucrative.
In 1993, Reece became Nike's first ever female
cross-training spokesperson, appearing alongside Bo Jackson
in TV ads. That same year, she began competing in the
four-person Bud Light Pro Beach Volleyball League, leading
in blocks during her first season, and kills her first four.
She became captain of team Nike in 1994, and was named the
League's Offensive Player of the Year for two consecutive
seasons.
Reece hosted segments of MTV Sports from 1993-1996, as well
as The Extremists (1995), where she got to try her hand at a
variety of high energy activities including drag racing,
white-water kayaking, and skydiving. From 1994 through '95,
she wrote a sports and fitness column for Elle magazine.
Following her fifth and final season with the Bud Light
League in 1997, she co-authored Big Girl in the Middle with
Karen Karbo, which chronicles her triumphs and defeats as a
top female pro athlete. She made a cameo appearance as a
fitness trainer in Gattaca (1997), and began contributing a
regular column to Women's Sports & Fitness. That November,
she married extreme surfer Laird Hamilton.
She switched to competing in the two-person Federation of
International Volleyball circuit in 1999, and posted
back-to-back thirds with partner Holly McPeak during their
first season together. In 2000, 6'3" Reece graced the cover
and interior pages of Play..boy.
Reece has recently been working on improving her golf swing,
and trained with coach Claude Harmon in the hopes of
eventually qualifying for the LPGA. She became the first
woman to compete at the American Century Pro Celebrity Golf
Tournament in 2002. She landed another career as a reporter
in November, covering golf for USA Sports, including the
2003 PGA Tour. |
|
|
Other
Information |
Volleyball player/model
The 6' 3" 160 lb Reece was an All-Conference volleyball star
at Florida State University, where she attended on an
athletic scholarship.
As an Elite agency fashion model she could command a $10,000
a day rate.
Measurements: 36-24-35 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
Played pro beach volleyball for the Lady Foot Locker team
and was captain and team MVP.
Dress size 8, shoe size 11.
Gave birth to her first child, a girl, Reece Viola Hamilton.
The baby was born October 2003. |
|
|
|
