Yakasimo

Born in Laleham, England on the 4th of February 1970, Gabrielle has a daughter named Willow (born 1993). At 19, daughter of a Persian film producer and an English actress, Gabrielle moved to Los Angeles with American actor and Grave co-star Craig Sheffer, whom she met while both were working in London. “He quoted some lines from a Hardy novel I was reading,” she says. “I was completely enchanted.”

Gabrielle chose acting to keep from going to school. Having been kicked out of one for fistfighting, she decided at 15 that the competition at drama school was too stiff. So after landing a role in the BBC miniseries Hideaway, she just kept working. “To this day, I think if I stop I’m going to end up in some establishment somewhere,” she says.

Cleaning apartments between jobs, Gabrielle was called in to audition for what would become her breakthrough role, Al Pacino’s tango partner in Scent of a Woman, or as she jokingly calls it, “Stench of a Wench”. Her next part, as a hotelier’s mistress in the Michael J. Fox comedy For Love or Money, was she says a “dreadful waste of millions. I beg for forgiveness for every woman who listened to what I said.” As co-webmaster for this website, I can say I truly enjoyed that film. Both Gabrielle and Michael J worked well together, a perfect chemistry. And showed, without fail, what a perfect singing voice Gabrielle also has.

While the actress is pleased with her work as a woman with a mysterious past in The Grave, she’s unhappy about the “princesses and ineloquent bimbettes” she’s agreed to play along the way. “I’ve made my own bed,” she says. “I’m only now regretting it.” Says Grave director Jonas Pate, “She’s always cast as the beautiful woman. But she has this incredibly funny, dark sensibility.”

Gabrielle continued to work steadily as the ’90s progressed. After an unsatisfying role in Things to Do in Denver When You?re Dead (1995) with Andy Garcia, Gabrielle spent the next decade on the B-list. She appeared in a number of movies with ex-boyfriend Craig Sheffer, including In Pursuit of Honor (1995), The Grave (1996), Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal (2001), Flying Virus (2001), Save It for Later (2003), Water Under the Bridge (2003), and Long Lost Son (2006). In the meantime, Gabrielle married actor John Verea, had two children with him, and subsequently got divorced.

Gabrielle?s star has risen once again, but this time it?s on cable television. In 2006, she co-starred with Noah Wyle in The Librarian 2 on TNT, and she starred as Henry VIII?s sister, Princess Margaret, on Showtime?s hit historical drama The Tudors in early 2007. Gabrielle followed that up as a regular on the USA Network?s comedy series Burn Notice, playing Fiona Glenanne, the IRA-connected ex-girlfriend of series star Jeffrey Donovan. Between acting gigs, raising her three children and taking care of her dog, Gabrielle likes to write screenplays and children?s books.

Film and Television:

Driving Lessons …. Nina (2009)
iMurders …. Lindsay Jefferies (2009)
Law and Order: Special Victims Unit …. Eva Sintzel (2008)
Burn Notice …. Fiona … (2007)
The Tudors …. Princess Margaret (6 episodes, 2007)
Crazy Eights (2006) …. Beth Patterson
The Librarian: Return to King Solomon’s Mines (2006) (TV) …. Emily Davenport
Long Lost Son (2006) (TV) …. Kirsten
The Marsh (2006) …. Claire Holloway
9-Tenths (2006) …. Jessica
Mysterious Island (2005) (TV) …. Jane
Try to Remember (2004) (TV) …. Lisa Monroe
Save It for Later (2003) …. Catherine
John Doe …. Rachel Penbroke (2 episodes, 2002-2003)
Sherlock (2002) (TV) …. Rebecca Doyle
Flying Virus (2001) …. Ann Bauer
The Practice …. Katie Defoe (1 episode, 2001)
Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal (2001) (V) …. Kate Hayden
How to Marry a Billionaire: A Christmas Tale (2000) (TV) …. Jenny Seeger
North Beach (2000) …. Lu
The Guilty (2000) …. Sophie Lennon
If You Only Knew (2000) …. Kate
Without Malice (2000) (TV) …. Susan
My Little Assassin (1999) (TV) …. Marita Lorenz
Kimberly (1999) …. Kimberly
The Manor (1999) …. Charlotte Kleiner
Beach Movie (1998) …. Sunny
The Ripper (1997) (TV) …. Florry Lewis
Sub Down (1997) (V) …. Laura Dyson
Nevada (1997) …. Linny
The Grave (1996) …. Jordan
Innocent Lies (1995) …. Celia Graves
Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead (1995) …. Dagney
In Pursuit of Honor (1995) (TV) …. Jessica Stuart
The Three Musketeers (1993) …. Queen Anne
For Love or Money (1993) …. Andy Hart
Fallen Angels …. Delia (1 episode, 1993)
Body Snatchers (1993) …. Marti Malone
Scent of a Woman (1992) …. Donna
Beverly Hills, 90210 …. Tricia Kinney (1 episode, 1992)
Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken (1991) …. Sonora Webster
If Looks Could Kill (1991) …. Mariska
Misteri della giungla nera, I (1991) (mini) TV Series …. Ada Corishant
Press Gang …. Sam Black (12 episodes, 1990)
Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989) (TV) …. Ramandu’s daughter
Summer’s Lease (1989) (mini) TV Series …. Chrissie Kettering
First Born (1988) (mini) TV Series …. Nell Forester
Manifesto (1988) …. Tina
The Storyteller …. Lidia (1 episode, 1988)
Hideaway (1986) (mini) TV Series …. Tracy Wright