Gabrielle was born in London in October 1963 to a Spanish father and an English mother. She trained at the
Arts Educational Schools, London and began her professional career dancing with the
National Ballet of Portugal. Upon returning to
Britain, she started a career in musical theatre, and has since appeared in numerous musical productions, in the
West End and on
Broadway. In 1992, she was part of the ensemble in
Nicholas Hytner's acclaimed revival of
Rodgers and Hammerstein's
Carousel. This production opened at the
Royal National Theatre and transferred in 1993 to the
Shaftesbury Theatre. Her other early roles include Iris in
Fame at the
Cambridge Theatre, Maggie in
A Chorus Line at the
Derby Playhouse and Cassie in a touring production of the same show, and Jenna in
The Goodbye Girl at the
Noël Coward Theatre. She continued her association with Rodgers and Hammerstein in 1998 when she was chosen by director
Trevor Nunn to star as Laurey Williams in his new production of
Oklahoma! opposite
Hugh Jackman which was staged at the National Theatre. It later transferred to the
Lyceum Theatre in the West End. For her performance in
Oklahoma!, she received her first
Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. Her "Dream Ballet" was choreographed by
Susan Stroman. When this revival transferred to
Broadway in 2002, Gabrielle travelled with the show and made her Broadway debut with the new company. Gabrielle's other roles include Dot/Maria in
Sunday in the Park With George at the
Leicester Haymarket, Roxie Hart in
Chicago at the
Adelphi and
Cambridge theatres, Alexandra Spofford in
The Witches of Eastwick at the
Prince of Wales Theatre, Cassie in
A Chorus Line at
Sheffield's
Crucible Theatre, Kathy Selden in ''
Singin' in the Rain'' at the Leicester Haymarket and
Sadler's Wells theatres, Irene Molloy in the
Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park production of
Hello, Dolly! In
Sweet Charity, which played first at the
Menier Chocolate Factory and transferred to the
Theatre Royal, Haymarket in the
West End, Gabrielle played the roles of Nickie and Ursula, and received another
Olivier Award nomination for her performance. Later in 2010, she played Lady Jacqui in the
Crucible Theatre's, Sheffield production of
Me and My Girl. In 2012, she toured the UK in the role of Anna Leonowens in a production of
Rodgers and Hammerstein's
The King and I, her third musical by this duo. Later that year, she returned to the
Menier Chocolate Factory to play the role of Gussie Carnegie in
Maria Friedman's much acclaimed production of
Stephen Sondheim's musical
Merrily We Roll Along, which had its
West End transfer to the
Harold Pinter Theatre in 2013 and earned Gabrielle her third
Olivier Award nomination for her performance. In May 2014, she joined the new cast of
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical at the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, as Mrs. Teavee. In August and September 2017, she took the lead role of Desirée in Sondheim's
A Little Night Music at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury. In 2018, she returned to
Chicago when the production returned to the West End, to the
Phoenix, this time playing the role of Velma Kelly. She played opposite the Roxie Harts of Sarah Soetart,
Alexandra Burke and
Caroline Flack. In 2020, she played Madame Thenardier in
Les Misérables when the ‘new’ version re-opened the refurbished Queen's Theatre under its new name of the Sondheim Theatre. She was performing this role as of October 2022.
Theatrical roles ==Dramatic work==