Gloria Reuben
Gloria Elizabeth Reuben (born June 9, 1964) is a Canadian-American singer and actress of film and television and producer, known for her role as Jeanie Boulet on the medical drama ER and for her role of Rosalind Whitman in the TV show Raising the Bar.
Life and career
Reuben was born in Toronto, to Pearl Avis (Mills), a classical singer, and Cyril George Reuben, an architect. Her parents were both Jamaican-born; her father, who was Caucasian, was of Jewish heritage, and her mother was Afro-Jamaican. Her father died when she was young.
Reuben is the half-sister of Denis Simpson, an actor and children's television host who died in 2010. She was the subject of a segment of Henry Louis Gates television genealogy series Finding Your Roots. She began learning piano as a child and later studied music technique and theory, ballet and jazz at the Canadian Royal Conservatory. Her career as an actress was triggered by a few jobs as a model and appearances in television advertisements.
Reuben is known for her role on the American television series ER as Jeanie Boulet, an HIV-positive physician assistant on the hospital's staff. She was a guest star throughout Season 1 and was elevated to full-time cast member at the beginning of Season 2. She continued that role until early Season 6, when she left the show. In 2008, Reuben returned to ER for one episode during its 14th season. She has stated that this role led to her HIV/AIDS activism.
