Gabourey Sidibe is celebrating double the milestones.
As The Give Me Back My Daughter star, 41, and husband Brandon Frankel prepare for twins Cooper and Maya’s first birthday later this month, she shared insight into life as a mom of two.
“They’re just like little cartoons,” Gabourey told E! News in an exclusive interview. “They just started walking and toddling around and they’re so funny. They’re like, learning words. And they’re just so smart. I’m so obsessed with them. I really am.”
And while the twins have just started talking, they’ve quite literally moved beyond baby steps these days.
“They could walk before,” the Precious star explained, “but now they’re really confident about it. My daughter is running back and forth now. It’s really, really sweet.” (For more with Gabourey, tune in to E! News tonight, April 3, at 11 p.m.)
Meanwhile, Maya has also begun waving and blowing kisses, while Cooper has showcased a love of music. “My son sings,” Gabourey revealed. “It’s the nuttiest thing you’ve ever seen—a baby that young, doing vocal scales.”
And while she and Brandon are savoring all the major moments with their little ones, the twins are also celebrating themselves. “They love high fiving themselves in the mirror,” Gabourey said. “They’re so goofy. I love them.”
“My son is like a chaotic cannonball,” she added, “and my daughter is much more methodical. She stands up, she gets her balance, and then she takes a walk. But my son launches himself, like, dives everywhere.”
But while the twin bond is strong, it took a moment to get there.
“They don’t even notice that there’s another baby there,” Gabourey explained. “But my daughter noticed my son at 2 months, and at 3 months, they started holding hands every time they were near each other. And so their bond started really, really quickly, which is really, really beautiful to watch.”
And while she’s marking her little ones’ milestones, this year she reached her own professional milestone: Her first time playing a mom as one IRL. And she was thrilled to dive into the experience in Give Me Back My Daughter.
“I’ve been a mom for about a year, so obviously I’m a pro it,” she joked to E!, “but I really like the idea of diving into the role of having a child and doing everything that I can to provide for that child because it’s not far off from who I am. It certainly isn’t at all far off from the way I was raised.”
“I was raised by a single mother,” she continued, “so, I thought it would be a really great way to honor my mother’s story.”
And while her character in the Lifetime movie is navigating parenting as a single mom, in real life, Gabourey is thankful to have such a supporting partner in husband of four years Brandon.
“He steps up for every single thing. There’s nothing too crazy for him to do,” she gushed. “And sometimes being a parent, things get crazy. Sometimes you have to suck snot out of your baby’s nose with your mouth. It’s gross. Nobody Instagrams that.”
Gabourey continued, “I’m so impressed with him, not just as a father, but as a man and a husband. And every day, he just gets better.”
Give Me Back My Daughter airs 8 p.m. ET April 5 on Lifetime and will begin streaming the next day. For more of Gabourey and Brandon’s cutest moments, keep reading.
—Reporting by Emily Curl
Hard Launch
Gabourey Sidibe made her relationship with Brandon Frankel Instagram official in May 2019 with a selfie, just two months after they met on the dating app Raya. And as Brandon revealed three years later in Brides, their first date lasted “more than seven hours.”
Taking Their Romance to the Next Level
Brandon proposed to the Empire actress in November 2020, sharing their exciting news to his Instagram with a sweet message envisioning their next chapter together.
“I asked my best friend to marry me, and she said ‘YES’! So excited to spend the rest of my life with the most amazing, hilarious, beautiful, and inspiring woman I’ve ever know,” he wrote. “I couldn’t imagine a life without you. We make the best team, and we make everything fun and memorable.”
NSFW Glimpse at the Proposal
Wishing her Brandon a happy birthday one month after getting engaged, Gabourey shared a naughty photo—one that may have also been a peek at their proposal—with her followers. The picture featured Brandon’s proposal from a month earlier, kneeling on the bed naked with ballon’s spelling out “Will you marry me?” in a strategic location.
“You are the funniest, kindest, toughest, most protective man in the world,” she wrote on Instagram in December 2020. “You’re always down for all my hair brained schemes, from painting your nails, to earing rice noodle rose water ice cream, to ridiculous photo shoots like this 1!”
Take Note
The Precious star shared a note Brandon left for her, wishing her a good morning in an August 2022 Instagram post.
“Been working all week and coming home at 2am when @brandontour is asleep and then I’m still asleep when he gets up,” she shared with her followers. “We’re basically ships in the night but he still makes sure to love me real good even when we’re not physically in the same space.”
Gabourey joked, “Damn… he REALLY wants that PS5.”
A Private “I Do”
After being asked about their wedding plans for months and claiming to be planning for spring 2023 nuptials, the Oscar-nominated actress revealed in December 2022 that she and Brandon were already married.
“The thing about weddings is I don’t like them,” she explained on Live with Kelly and Ryan at the time. “Here’s an example of how much I don’t like them: I’m actually married. We got married over a year ago.”
Gabourey went on to explain that her and her husband privately tied the knot at their kitchen table four months after their engagement, but they were still planning to eventually have a ceremony.
And after she revealed the news, Brandon gushed about life as a newlywed.
“I can finally call her my WIFE publicly! Since @gabby3shabby finally spilled the beans today,” he wrote on Instagram. “So thankful to have found my forever person, my partner-in-crime, and the love of my life. Every day if the best day with you.”
Permanently Inked
In March 2023, Brandon surprised his wife with a new tattoo: her name on his upper thigh. He posted a video to Instagram of him getting “Gabourey” inked—as well as her very sweet response.
“Oh what did you do? Why did you do this,” she said, laughing. “Okay. Spelled correctly, good job.”
And he ensured people that the decision was solely his own.
“I love my wife so much I wanted to ink her name on me forever,” he wrote. “And she was very worried once I showed her what I did that y’all would think she made me do it. I assure you, I’m just crazy in love.”
A Growing Empire
Gabourey and Brandon announced they were expecting twins in February 2024 in a picture on Instagram with him placing a hand on her baby bump.
“I’m pregnant! We thought it was time to give our cats some responsibility so we’re giving them each a baby to take care of,” she captioned the reveal. “Double the babies, double the cats, double the fun!!”
Double Trouble
Four months after welcoming twins Maya and Cooper with her husband in April 2024, she gave her followers an update as to how they were navigating life with their newborns. Sharing a picture of the two babies lounging in their respective bouncer chairs while she read The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton to them, she captioned the August 2024 post, “Story Time.”
Holding Hands
Gabourey posted a sweet moment between the twins on her Instagram story, showing how strong their bond was at just 4 months old.
“They can’t touch their sensory books,” she captioned the August 2024 video, “because they’re too busy holding hands.”
Family Photo
The talent agent has no shortage of posts dedicated to his three favorite girls. In November 2024, Brandon posted a tribute for Gabourey and their twins as Cooper and Maya reached the 7-month-old milestone, giving them the title of the “loves” of his life.
“No matter how tough things get, or how crazy the world becomes, the way you all light up when you see me just warms my heart,” he wrote. “I love you all the most.”
Merry Christmas
Gabourey posted a video of her first Christmas with her and Brandon’s twins—who were 8 months old for the holiday—and gifted them with an activity table, puzzles and toys.
“First Frankel Family Christmas for The SidiBabies was a success,” she shared in her Dec. 26 post. “They really loved the boxes!”
And her husband couldn’t agree with more with their success, commenting, “We did it! We won the parent ‘Super Bowl’!”
Precious Memories
Celebrating her and Brandon’s sixth anniversary, Gabourey shared a precious tribute to her husband, sharing a series of photos together, reminiscing on their relationship.
“We met in late March [2019],” the Big C alum captioned the March 2025 carousel. “In June, he visited me in New Orleans and for fun, I took him to see a tarot card reader who told him he’d be married soon and with kids.”
“[Brandon] has been running full speed towards me everyday since we met,” she added. “If I had realized sooner what a wonderful husband he would turn out to be, I would’ve stood still and let him catch me sooner.”
