Our Very Special Angels
Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation has some very special angels on its side. Meet our Angel Ambassadors who have committed themselves to helping us spread the word about the importance of funding cancer research. These generous souls engage, educate and inspire others to help us fulfill Gabrielle’s quest for a cancer-free world.
Alan Cumming, the award-winning Scottish born star of stage and screen, was most recently nominated for Emmy, SAG, and Satellite awards for his portrayal of “Eli Gold” on CBS-TV’s The Good Wife. Alan has sung at venues around the globe from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House, appeared in films (Spy Kids, X2), television (Sex in the City, The L Word) and on stage (Broadway’s Cabaret and The Threepenny Opera, and Chekhov’s The Seagull opposite Diane Wiest.) He has written a best-selling novel as well as articles for Newsweek, Harper’s BAZAAR and Out Magazine.
Alan has also recorded an album of songs and released two signature fragrances. He supports many charities including Broadway Cares / Equity Fights Aids, GLAAD, and amfAR and his activism and passion for charitable causes have earned him humanitarian awards from the LGBT Task Force, The Human Rights Campaign, The Trevor Project, Lambda Legal, and an OBE from Buckingham Palace for his work on behalf of LGBT rights.
Of his association with Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation, Alan says, “There is a common misconception that cancer is something that happens when you’re older. It doesn’t. It can happen any time, and it can happen when you’re young and beautiful and have everything to live for, just like it happened to Gabrielle. I am involved with Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation because I want to make young people aware of that and get them involved in the fight to find cures and to help those who suffer. And I want to honor Gabrielle’s memory and the amazing work her mother Denise does to make the word a better place.” For more info, visit alancumming.com.
Brittany Daniel recently starred as “Kelly Pitts” in the hit television show THE GAME, that finished its 9th and final Season on BET in 2015. She also recently starred opposite David Spade in Joe Dirt 2 for Sony Crackle reprising her cult hit role of “Brandy.”
Brittany is a native of Gainesville, Florida, and began her career starring opposite her twin sister Cynthia in the television series “Sweet Valley High” for which they won the Young Artist actress award for a tv comedy.
After making her feature film debut in “The Basketball Diaries” opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, she went on to recur on “Dawson’s Creek”, “That ’70s Show,” It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” as well as becoming a series regular on “That ’80s Show.”
Her other feature film credits include “Skyline” “White Chicks,” “Joe Dirt” and “Club Dread.”
Brittany also appeared in the feature film “Little Man,” starring Kerry Washington, Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans. She was nominated for ‘Best Kiss’ at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards for that role.
Brittany was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for producing “Ruby” for the Style Network starring her best friend, Ruby Gettinger. It ran for 4 seasons.
Brittany resides in Los Angeles.
Suleika Jaouad is an Emmy Award-winning New York Times Well columnist, health advocate and cancer survivor. Her “Life, Interrupted” column chronicles her experiences as a young woman with cancer. Suleika has been featured in Glamour magazine, NBC’s Weekend Today Show, NPR’s Talk of The Nation and All Things Considered. In 2013, Suleika won an Emmy Award for the New York Times video series that accompanies her “Life, Interrupted” column.
A triple citizen of the US, Switzerland, and Tunisia, Suleika graduated with highest honors from Princeton University in 2010.
Shortly after graduation, at age 22, Suleika was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia. After surviving countless rounds of ongoing chemotherapy, a harrowing clinical trial and a bone marrow transplant, Suleika has made it her life’s work to help others to find their voices and to make the most of their own “life, interrupted” moments.
For more information, please visit: http://suleikajaouad.com
Selenis Leyva was last seen on stage in the production of Basilica at the Cherry Lane Theatre and the title role in The Life and Music of Celia Cruz (New World Stages). She can be currently seen in the World Premiere Play Tell Hector I Miss Him at the Atlantic Theatre Company and as “Gloria Mendoza” on Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black” now in its fifth season, for which The New York Times named Selenis as one of 2015’s top television performances.
Ms. Leyva has been honored with receiving the 2014 Alma Award Special Achievement in Television, The Hola Jose Ferrer Tespis award and is a two-time Screen Actors Guild Winner (2014, 2015) for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Some of her past television appearances include “Madame Secretary” (CBS), “Veep” (HBO), “Girls” (HBO).
She was recently named one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in 2016 by People en Español for her philanthropic work with Cancer Research, LGBTQ issues and children’s issues. Selenis can be seen in the new Spiderman movie (Marvel, Sony), coming out Summer 2017.
Erin Zammett Ruddy writes frequently for Glamour, Redbook, Marie Claire, Self, InStyle, HGTV and others and is currently a contributing editor at Yahoo! Parenting, where she launched the “Mom Without A Filter” blog. In 2010, she helped create and write the Glamour cookbook 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know. Before going freelance in 2008, Zammett Ruddy was an editor for eight years at Glamour, where she wrote the award-winning Life With Cancer column and the daily blog of the same name. In 2005, her acclaimed book My So-Called-Normal Life: How I Learned to Balance Love, Work, Family, Friends and Cancer at 23 was published by The Overloook Press.
She is an 11-year leukemia survivor and sits the board of directors for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s New York City chapter and is an Angel Ambassador for Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation, founded by Denise Rich. Erin is a frequent guest speaker, has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for cancer research and has appeared on several television programs, including Nightline, The Today Show, Dateline and Good Morning America. Her story was featured in the documentary Crazy, Sexy, Cancer.
The University of Tennessee graduate lives on Long Island with her husband and three young children.
Ethan Zohn is a true survivor. After playing professional soccer in the US and Zimbabwe, Ethan won $1 million on the CBS-TV reality show, “Survivor Africa.” He used his prize money to co-found Grassroot Soccer (GRS), an non-profit organization that uses the power of soccer and the energy of youth to educate, inspire and mobilize communities to improve health. Ethan has been an important force in driving the strategic direction of GRS and building partnerships that have helped to provide lifesaving education for more than 1.8 million young people in 50 different countries. As global spokesperson and captain of GRS Endurance Teams, Ethan launched GRS UNITED, a US awareness campaign by dribbling a soccer ball 550 miles from Boston to Washington, D.C.
In 2011, after twice surviving a rare form of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and two bone marrow transplants, Ethan ran the NYC and Boston Marathon and has since become “the megaphone” for the young adult generation battling cancer. Zohn was named a global ambassador for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, First Descents and Stand Up 2 Cancer. In 2010, Zohn captained and spearheaded the SU2C “Reality Team Challenge” to help raise more than $100 million for cancer research.
Ethan is currently the host of The New England Revolution Post Game Live on Comcast Sports Net. He previously hosted the ABC-TV Emmy-nominated show, “Everyday Health” and “Outside Today” on the Outside Television Network. Prior to that, Ethan was the host of “Earth Tripping”, an eco-friendly travel adventure show that brought him to over 20 countries. Ethan returned to reality TV as a contestant on “The Amazing Race”, “Survivor All-Star”, “Fear Factor”, “Eco-Challenge” and was featured in the documentary film on the global AIDS pandemic, “A Closer Walk,” along with The Dalai Lama, Bono and Kofi Annan.
Of his work with Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation, Ethan says, “To be an Angel Ambassador and to help fulfill Gabrielle’s mission of a cancer free world is such an honor. It is essential for all young adults touched by cancer to have an organization like Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation to help ensure we have a voice. As an Angel Ambassador and lymphoma survivor, I will do everything in my power to make sure no one else has to suffer from this horrible disease, like we did.
Twan is a social media celebrity influencer, actor, a professional model and entrepreneur, with his own clothing brand, “Promiseland Clothing”. Forbes Magazine named him, “The Future Of Brand Collaborations”. Twan is 21 years old, originally from a small farming town in Holland, but now considers America his home. Three years ago he moved to Miami where he first met Lele Pons. They teamed up and started shooting videos together for Vine. Twan received 80,000 new followers the first day with his first post, and within only a few weeks he gained over 1 million followers, and nearly 1 billion views on Vine. He switched over to Instagram two years ago, and now has over 3.7 million active followers and gaining new followers rapidly.
He has collaborated with such prestigious brands as: Dolce & Gabbana, Perry Ellis, Revlon, L’Oreal, Sprint, Amazon, Jetsmarter, and many others. As a model, Twan is featured in centerfold with supermodel Lara Stone, featuring Doutzen Kroes in the anniversary signature limited edition of Vogue, shot by legendary photographer Mario Testino. He is also featured in Esquire Black Book and DAMan Magazine among others.
Recently, Twan found out that his brother was diagnosed with Leukemia. Upon hearing this news, Twan jumped into action and has teamed up with Garbrielle’s Angel Foundation founded by Denise Rich. Twan is now their Social Media Ambassador, and is currently doing a T-Shirt campaign to raise money and awareness in search of a cure.