Gabrielle Reece exclusive photo collection and biography

Gabrielle Reece
Born January 6, 1970 (1970-01-06) (age 38)
La Jolla, California, U.S.
Nationality United States
Other names Gabby
Occupation Volleyball player, Fashion model
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight 160 lb (73 kg/11 st)


Early life
Reece was born in La Jolla, California, to a mother from Long Island, New York, and a Trinidadian father - who died when she was five years old. Her height is inherited mostly from her mother. She was raised in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and she returned to the U.S. mainland for the eleventh grade.





Reece didn't take up sports until then (the 11th grade) when she and her mother moved to St.Petersburg, Florida. Many colleges started recruiting her due to her abilities in sports. She accepted a volleyball scholarship from the Florida State University, where she majored in communications, and in volleyball she led the league in kills four times and blocks once. In 1989, she moved to model in New York City



Personal life
On November 30 1997, Gabrielle married the Hawaiian big-wave surfer Laird Hamilton. They have two children together: daughters Reece Viola Hamilton (born in October 2003) and Brody Jo Hamilton (born on January 1 2008 in Hawaii).



Volleyball career
Since graduation, Reece has played on professional volleyball tours. FSU inducted Reece into the Florida State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997. Reece set two still standing school volleyball records in solo blocks (240) and total blocks (747).



In 1997, competing with the best global beach volleyball players ever assembled, Reece's 4-man team took first place at the first-ever Beach Volleyball World Championships staged at the UCLA Tennis Center. A Florida State star turned pro, 1997 was Reece's fifth season as a team captain in the 4-person Women's Beach Volleyball League (WBVL), and her fourth captaining Team Nike, which shared League Co-Championship.




For four consecutive years, Reece was the WBVL kills leader from 1993-1996. She was named the Offensive Player of the Year in 1994-95, and the League blocks leader in 1993. She also competed domestically in the 1999-2000 Olympic Challenge Series, the 1999-2000 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, and other competitions.



Modeling career
Reece began her modeling career while attending FSU. In 1989 she was named by ELLE magazine as one of the five most beautiful Women in the World.
Reece has appeared on the covers of several magazines including Shape, Women's Sports & Fitness, Outside, ELLE, and Life. She also appeared on the cover of Playboy, with an accompanying nude pictorial, in January 2001. Ironically, when appearing as herself the year before on the HBO series Arliss, she angrily chastised her agent for bringing her an offer to pose nude for Playboy.