Gabrielle Union celebrates 50th Birthday in Africa: A Voyage of Joy

Award-winning actress and entrepreneur Gabrielle Union marked her 50th birthday in Africa with her husband, Dwyane Wade, daughter Kaavia, and other family and friends as they connected with the past and celebrated the present. Together, they find experiences that help them connect and better understand their ancestral past. Traveling throughout Africa, stopping in Ghana, Tanzania, Namibia, and South Africa, is something that the Hollywood star hopes other people of African ancestry can experience for themselves.

Celebrating her 50th in Africa was largely led by a personal desire to “decenter my trauma,” shares the Bring It On star who has visited the Mother Continent several times throughout her life.

But “My Journey to 50” is not just a search for self only. As Union confronts the hold being raped as a teen has had on her for 30 years, she also makes other connections, with history, legacy, global fellowship as well as joy and love. It’s one that resonates beyond just her.

As a working mother who suffers “mommy guilt,” the actress also relishes sharing this experience with her daughter.