Gabby Sidibe from 'American Horror Story' Cooks Senegalese Dish at Home Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

The Hollywood actress wanted to impress her fans and followers with her cooking, but a piece of clothing she wore ended up stealing all the attention.

36-year-old actress and director Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe has been quarantining with her boyfriend of nearly a year and after days isolating at home she has taken a renewed interest in cooking, as her fans were delighted to know.

On March 30, 2020, the “Precious” star, who until recently admitted to not be much of a cook, proudly took to her Instagram feed to share a picture of herself as she paid tribute to her origins by cooking a Senegalese dish.

The actress is seen donning a big smile and a beautiful, multicolored apron that not only she referred to in the post’s caption, after some of her fans had complimented her for another apron she wore in a previous post.

“Oh y’all like my apron? That wasn’t even my COOKING Apron. That’s my Dish Washing Apron,” joked the Academy Award-nominated performer, adding:

“THIS is my Cooking Apron. I’m cooking Maffe! It’s a Senegalese dish with peanut butter sauce.”

FANS REACT

It is difficult to judge a dish by only looking at it, so the post prompted no comments about Sidibe’s Maffe, but her fans were really interested in the actress’ kitchen fashion.

“This is a cute pic!! And yeah that apron is poppin,’” said a user. “Love the apron but you had me at the big pot of cheese,” joked another user, while a third person crowned her as the “Apron queen.”

The post also gathered more than 40.000 likes in less than 24 hours, proving how charismatic the movie and TV star is in social media.

Since the fans were so curious about Sidibe’s apron, the actress made mention of its manufacturer, the UK-based online store Bespoke Binny, in case anybody wanted to order it.

HAPPY IN LOVE

In the aforementioned Instagram post, we can clearly see a man taking Sidibe’s picture, thanks to the reflection on the kitchen’s window. By his looks and what we know from older posts, it is safe to say that it is her boyfriend Brandon Frankel.

Back in January, it was confirmed that Sidibe was in a serious relationship with Frankel, whom she had been dating for at least eight months at the time, having traveled abroad together although with extreme discretion.

While Sidibe has been much more secretive about the relationship in her social media, Frankel, who works in music and entertainment marketing, hasn’t been shy to share pictures of him with his girlfriend and has talked about his feelings openly.

“I love you more and more every single day- which seems impossible, but continually amazes me. Here’s to 2020- and thank you for loving me so unconditionally. I love being your forever-Dork,” Frankel wrote in December.

FIRST STEPS AS A DIRECTOR

Ever since she first debuted in Hollywood with her acclaimed starring role in the 2009 drama film “Precious,” Sidibe has kept cementing her reputation as a talented actress with subsequent roles in films like “Seven Psychopaths” (2012).

More recently, she has found success in the small screen, starring in the series “American Horror Story” (2013-2018) and “Empire” (2015-2020), but what a lot of people doesn’t know is that she is also pursuing a career as a director.

First, she directed the short film “The Tale of Four” in 2016, a complex story inspired by Nina Simone’s song “Four Women,” and most recently she took a chance behind the camera to direct two episodes of “Empire” in 2019.

“I didn’t want to be a director until somebody asked me if I wanted to direct,” Sidibe admitted in an interview with Forbes in April 2019.

“I said [to myself] you’ll suffer through this and you’ll be fine. But it turns out I love it, and I’m pretty good at it. There’s something in directing that I can’t deny,” added the star.