The versatility with which Gloria Reuben works in television, movies, and music has helped this Canadian-born star establish an enviable reputation and make many people familiar with her. Most fans know this actress mainly because of ER, and, perhaps, later Mr. Robot and Lincoln. Besides being a skilled actress and screen star, Gloria Reuben has managed to become a singer with a noticeable jazz influence on her art.
Biography
This performer was born on June 9, 1964, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Gloria Reuben is one of those actresses whose careers can be easily recognized by the variety of roles they play. Reuben starred in films and series as a doctor, a lawyer, a historical figure, and so on; however, no matter what role she had to perform, she stayed as grounded and elegant as possible.
Early life
The career history of actress Gloria Reuben does not say anything specific about her early years in acting. What we only know is that the actress was raised in Toronto and did not take one particular lane leading to acting and modeling – she gradually entered the professional entertainment through small parts in TV series and participating in photoshoots for magazines.
Those early years of her biography turned out to be very significant later on; in particular, they helped the actress get used to being filmed. This helped her considerably later on in her career in the US, where Gloria Reuben started working in television and cinema and gradually transformed her small and auxiliary roles into more complex and emotional ones. In other words, it was through those performances that she established herself as an actress.
Television breakthrough
As it was already mentioned above, actress Gloria Reuben was primarily associated in her fans' minds with ER. The appearance of Reuben in ER took place in 1995 when the actress became part of this major ensemble drama. What made Reuben so popular in ER was not her looks only, although they are certainly not poor, but rather that she managed to give life to such a vivid character as Jeanie Boulet. Moreover, it was Reuben herself who made the character of Boulet intelligent, vulnerable, but also morally complex, especially during story lines concerning illnesses of some characters, professional challenges of others, etc. So, Reuben's participation in the ER series is one of the easiest ways for Gloria Reuben movie and TV show fans to see her talent at full length.
ER contributed greatly to establishing the range in Gloria Reuben's biography; since then, she was not limited to one type of role. She appeared in thrillers, historical dramas, legal series, and modern cable and net TV productions and played characters in all of them that were competent, but were never stereotyped.
The most recognisable roles of Gloria Reuben in films and TV shows include:
- Jeanie Boulet in ER
- Elizabeth Keckley in Lincoln
- Rosalind Whitman in Raising the Bar
- Krista Gordon in Mr. Robot
In addition to ER, Reuben demonstrated great adaptability in her TV appearances; for instance, in the legal-drama Raising the Bar she showed herself as an authoritative and clever woman, while the role of Krista Gordon in Mr. Robot became another proof of her talent and natural fit into the modernized world of TV. At the same time, this latter role gave her many new fans who saw her for the first time in it.
Film career & music
Movies starring this actress are often related to her biography in the way that they were shot right after her TV appearances. In particular, in 1995 she participated in such a thriller as Nick of Time and, the next year, in the movie called The Long Kiss Goodnight. However, as far as Reuben was concerned, those were just starting steps in her film career. Thus, in 2007, Gloria Reuben played in the historical drama The Great Debaters, while in 2012, in the famous Lincoln, she appeared in the role of Elizabeth Keckley, a historic figure known as a dressmaker and also as a confidante of Mary Todd Lincoln. That performance fit Reuben quite well; in particular, her skills of playing a composed and at the same time intelligent heroine became obvious.
All mentioned above gives a nice insight into Reuben's film career in general. In other words, it turns out that she has always been playing in the movies that required credibility and subtlety. As a result, whether it concerns some thriller or, on the contrary, some character-focused drama, Reuben plays in those films in the same restrained manner. It becomes understandable why, when searching for information on Gloria Reuben, fans find her biography rather impressive in terms of variety.
Besides films, Reuben starred in TV shows; moreover, she has also established herself as a serious jazz singer whose work cannot be called marginal. For instance, Gloria Reuben produced her own album, Perchance to Dream (2015). Thus, it is clear enough that music is one of those important components in the biography of this Canadian-born artist.
Conclusion
What makes Gloria Reuben's career unique is that the two professions – that of actress and singer – develop in perfect coordination one of another. Being an actress, Reuben usually performs characters of composed women who think thoroughly before they act; playing jazz music, she shows similar subtlety in sound intonation and expression of tone and so on. As a result, such a combination has helped her become a prominent star in both spheres. Fans searching the Internet for Gloria Reuben movies and TV shows discover a rather versatile, serious and intelligent biography of the star.