REASONS TO LOVE NEW YORK # 8. Because This Is a Town Where Gabourey Sidibe Can Be an “It” Girl

As far as starlets go—a young woman in possession of that rare ability to walk into a room, command head-turns, and make her own fun wherever she goes—Gabourey Sidibe is not a usual suspect.

What she is armed with is an unshakable confidence. “People say I got this role and now I’m awesome, but the truth is I’ve always been awesome.”

“She charms people,” says Andrew Saffir, who invites her to his mover-and-shaker-stocked movie screenings for the Cinema Society. “When actors see her, they literally run for her. ”

“She defies all prejudices of mass-market stardom,” says Village Voice columnist Michael Musto. “No one ever looks or talks to her and says, ‘Who’s that again?’ ”