Born Gillian Iliana Waters on 16 January 1975, she is an American actress. She is also the wife of actor Michael Jai White and has been active in the film industry since 1995.
Keep scrolling to learn more about Gillian’s personal and professional life and net worth.
Gillian White’s Early Life
Gillian was born in Los Angeles, CA. Her parents are Victor and Cheryl Waters. She has African-American, Blackfoot Indian, and Irish descent. She was an all-around student-athlete in high school, a star basketball player, Homecoming Queen, and an honors student.
Gillian wanted to become an FBI agent, and she received a scholarship from LAPD to study Administration of Justice at Howard University. However, she changed her major to Human Communication and minored in Dramatic Arts.
Career
Gillian has been in the industry for over 20 years. Her debut on the screens was starring as the lover of LL Cool J in his music video Hey Lover ft. Boyz II Men. She then starred as Dr. Dre’s wife and tango partner in his music video Been There, Done That. She moved from videos and got her first role in television for the film How To Be a Player. The role was followed by playing Cole’s girlfriend on Martin’s hit show.
Iliana kept booking guest-starring roles in dramas, sitcoms, and smaller roles in feature films like Spike Lee’s Bamboozled and Quentin Tarantino’s Classic. Her best role was playing Amoria, the Amazon warrior on Xena: Warrior Princess, a show filmed on location in New Zealand. Her second favorite role was China Lee Arvin’s recurring villain on the soap opera Days of Our Lives.
Personal Life
Gillian has two daughters from her previous marriage, whose details are undisclosed. Alaia Waters was born in 2001, and Niahla Waters in 2008. She is married to her best friend of 19 years and fiancé of three years, actor, martial arts star, and director Michael Jai White. Their wedding was a lavish but intimate ceremony in Thailand, complete with a dazzling Thai couture dress. There were Thai drummers, a parade of painted elephants, firework shows, and exotic dancers throwing flowers during the ceremony. The wedding took place after the completion of filming Sony Picture’s Never Back Down in Bangkok. The couple is starring in the film.
Apart from her daughters, Gillian has three stepchildren, Devin, Jai, and Morgan White, from her second marriage. Gillian and Michael share a public loving relationship whose main focus is their family, upcoming projects, health and fitness, and happiness. As a result, the duo is fast becoming Black Hollywood’s newest IT couple.
Net Worth
Gillian Waters’ net worth is an estimated $1 million. As already established, her main source of this wealth is her successful career in acting small and then major roles in TV shows, soap operas, and films. On the other hand, Michael has an estimated net worth of $3.5 million, earned from his professional acting career.
Bottling Up
As a self-proclaimed “very cool, very hip nerd” career woman, Gillian has taken up roles that have seen her rise from being a music video vixen to Hollywood stardom. We hope to see more of a self-made star Gillian on the screens in the future.