I like to consider myself something of a Sabrina, the Teenage Witch [1] obsessive, which is why I had no problem tucking into the newly released Netflix series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina [2]. Despite the very obvious, very dark differences [3] between the hit '90s sitcom and the current remake, it's the perfect show to binge during the scary season. There are so many things to love about the show — the creepy, film noir-style shots; the perfect soundtrack [4]; the feminist undertones; the masterful metaphors about good and evil and how they relate to the mortal world today — but one of the characters who really pops off the screen for me is Prudence Night, the wickedly badass witch and leader of the Weird Sisters.
Think of Prudence as the Regina George of the Academy of Unseen Arts, the Hogwarts-style school where teenage witches are educated. She controls her orphan sisters — the equally sour yet not nearly as powerful Dorcus and Agatha — and hates the fact that Sabrina is half-witch, half-mortal, often spitting out harsh one-liners and calling her slurs like "mutt" and "half-breed." So, who is the woman behind Greendale's badass bully? The fantastically evil Prudence is played by 22-year-old actress Tati Gabrielle, whose performance in Chilling Adventures achieves something nearly impossible: as much as you want to hate Prudence and root for her demise, you can't help but be fascinated and even a little inspired by her determination and willfulness (personally, I heavily related to her penchant for "tormenting mortal boys").
During the series we learn that, like the majority of high school mean girls [6], Prudence's ire stems from lots of inner turmoil (not to mention a less-than-ideal childhood). While mostly enemies, Prudence and Sabrina do work together on a few occasions — I won't spoil anything, but there's a resurrection involved — and prove to be a pretty formidable team. I can't wait to see how their friendship (frenemyship?) progresses in the second season [7], and judging by the finale, it certainly seems like Prudence's take-no-prisoners attitude will continue to rub off on Sabrina Spellman. As you're streaming Chilling Adventures and gearing up for the next chapter, learn more Tati Gabrielle, and find out where you've seen her before.
She's a California girl.
Born Tatiana Gabrielle Hobson on January 26, 1996 in the Bay Area of Northern California, Gabrielle began modelling when she was five years old and was a member of the Oakland School for the Arts theatre program (Kehlani and Zendaya [8] are fellow alumni). After high school she attended the women's HBCU Spelman College, where she majored in drama and French. Her first roles were on the Nickelodeon show The Thundermans and the Disney Channel sitcom KC Undercover.
She originally auditioned for a different role on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
Yup, Gabrielle almost wasn't Prudence at all! The actress originally auditioned [9] for the role of Sabrina Spellman's best friend, Rosalind "Ros" Walker, but was asked to come back in and read for Prudence instead.
"It was my first time at trying a more antagonistic or villainous role, and I had always said that it was my dream to play a villain," Gabrielle recently old W Magazine. "I love the idea that [Prudence is] not your typical teenage mean girl."
She took inspiration from another darkly iconic character for the role of Prudence.
Do Prudence's sphinx-like mannerisms and smooth, syrupy, sort-of British lilt remind you of anyone? They should. Gabrielle revealed to W that she transformed herself into Prudence by looking to the late Eartha Kitt, whose own distinctive speaking style brought life to her legendary portrayal of Catwoman on TV in the 1960s.
"The accent just kind of came to me," Gabrielle said in a recent interview. "But as far as her mannerisms, I'm a really big fan of Eartha Kitt; that was a big inspiration for me. Eartha was such a powerful woman, just as herself, and the way that she'd sway and move. She was the original Catwoman, but she was literally like a cat. She was a panther in the form of a human being."
This isn't her first brush with the dark side. . .
In 2017 Gabrielle joined the cast of The CW post-apocalyptic science fiction series The 100, playing Gaia, a flamekeeper scout. She also had a role in the horror series Freakish and lent her voice to the animated series Tarantula before being cast as Prudence in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
. . . But she isn't really a horror buff.
It may come as a surprise given how great she is at playing evil, but Gabrielle considers herself "the biggest baby" when it comes to scary movies. "I am not a horror fan," Gabrielle told Teen Vogue, adding that she "couldn't watch Jurassic Park" until she was sixteen, "and that's not even a horror film."