Samaya Clark-Gabriel (born October 1, 2009) is an American teenage athlete and actress from the Brooklyn, New York area. She was nationally recognized for her athletic abilities at age four.

Early life

In 2016, Gabriel was named "Athlete of the Year" for leading the Brooklyn Stars soccer team to their first championship. In addition to receiving several tournament titles, she was presented with the Lion's Heart Award for demonstrating drive and proficiency against many all-boys teams. Since then, she has taken a break from soccer to focus her efforts on basketball.

Media appearances

Showcasing her basketball skills, Samaya has been featured on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

'', '' GoodDay NY'', CBS Sports, '' USA Today'',

News 12 Brooklyn The News 12 Networks are a group of regional cable news television channels in the New York metropolitan area that are owned by Altice USA. All channels provide rolling news coverage 24 hours a day, focusing primarily on regions of the metr ...

, ''

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...

'', ESPN, ESPNW, '' Chasing News'', BRICTV, the '' New York Post'', Fox5NY, Women You Should Know, ''The Ben & Pickler Show'', ''Harry'', '' Rolling Stone'', and

People.com ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People'' had the l ...

. In addition to media features, Samaya has practiced with the New York Liberty Basketball team and has played 1-on-1 with NBA legend and NY Liberty President

Isiah Thomas Isiah Lord Thomas III (born April 30, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who is an analyst for ''NBA TV''. The 12-time NBA All-Star was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History as well as the 75 Grea ...

. In January 2018, Samaya became the first child to play alongside

The Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of ...

in a game at

Barclays Center Barclays Center is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liberty o ...

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

, and

Nassau Coliseum Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, east of New York City. The Long Island venue is approximately east of the eastern limits of the New York City Borough of ...

. Gabriel and her father were featured on

Fatherly Fatherly is a digital lifestyle brand that provides news, expert advice, product recommendations and other resources for parents. The company was founded in 2015 and is based in New York City. Overview Fatherly offers articles, videos, and oth ...

social media platforms, where she garnered 2.8 million views and 76,000 shares. Recently, Samaya has been on the radar of the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, as she was featured in a Monday Motivation post. For the

2018 NBA draft The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including inte ...

, Samaya teamed up with Verizon and Vince Carter's Dunk Clinic. In 2020, Samaya was featured on ''

Little Big Shots ''Little Big Shots'' (also known as ''LBS'') is an American variety television series co-created and produced by Steve Harvey and Ellen DeGeneres. The series features children demonstrating talents and engaging in conversation with the host. ...

,'' starring Melissa McCarthy.

Acting Debut

In 2018, Samaya made her acting debut in the indie film titled '' Foster Sin''. The film brings awareness to the mistreatment of children in the foster system.

Philanthropy

Samaya raises donations for

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is a pediatric treatment and research facility located in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1962, it is a 501(c)(3) designated nonprofit medical corporation which focuses on children's catastrophic diseases, pa ...

, supporting research towards cures for child cancer and other life-threatening diseases. She was recognized for her efforts by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Samaya also visits child life centers in Children's Hospitals around the New York area.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark-Gabriel, Samaya 2009 births Living people Actresses from Brooklyn Basketball players from Brooklyn 21st-century American actresses African-American child actresses American child actresses 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen