IDK if you’ve heard, but Idris Elba is aware of the effect he has on women. BUT! The Office references aside, there’s only one woman for him these days: Sabrina Dhowre Elba, his wife since 2019. The couple met in 2017, fell in love, and the rest is history.
If you’ve been seeing pictures of Idris and Sabrina all over—from the premiere of Idris’s latest film, The Harder They Fall, to fashion-filled red carpets and buzzy events on the ’gram, you’re probably aware of just how truly gorgeous they are. But if you still (understandably) want to know more about who Sabrina is, same, we’ve gotchu. An activist, literal beauty queen, model, podcast host, and maybe even the future Mrs. Bond (jk…unless?)—it’s time to get to know Sabrina Dhowre Elba.
Follow along as we intro you to Idris’s leading lady and their very sweet love story.
Sabrina is an activist
Sabrina and Idris are Goodwill Ambassadors for the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development. Last year, they launched a global coronavirus relief fund to lessen the impact of the pandemic on rural small-scale farmers and producers.
According to The Guardian, Sabrina also works on sustainable aid projects and climate justice initiatives in African countries. In addition, she focuses on gender equality in rural communities and has worked with the First Lady of Sierra Leone on issues related to violence against women in the country. She’s also written about racial justice and used her social media platforms to start conversations about the topic.
She’s also a model
In addition to serving *lewks* on the red carpet with Idris, Sabrina is also a model who’s been featured in magazines including British Vogue, Elle, InStyle, Arcadia, and Harrods Magazine, to name just a few.
She is of Somali descent
Sabrina was born in Canada, and her family is of Somali descent. Sabrina’s mother raised five children all by herself and reportedly encouraged Sabrina to focus on humanitarian efforts in Africa.
“You can have all these top-level causes, but from my mother, I know about rural life and communities and especially how women and girls play such a massive role,” Sabrina explained in an interview. “She was calling me every day saying, ‘What are you going to do for women in Africa?’ She attributes so much of what she has achieved to having come from a rural community.”
Oh, and she’s also a beauty queen
In 2014, Sabrina was crowned Ms. Vancouver in a beauty pageant. By her side was Mr. Vancouver (yup, the Canadians crown both a male and female winner for this beauty pageant), Walt Yao.
She’s a regular among the fashion crowd
Honestly, if I met Anna Wintour, I would absolutely put it on my grid too. And make it my profile picture everywhere. And maybe print it out and hang it up and possibly get a billboard just to show it off. Anyway….
She’s also friendly with Bella and Gigi Hadid.
And Christian Louboutin.
Sabrina and Idris had a super-romantic meet-cute
Idris told British Vogue that it was “love at first sight.” He and Sabrina first met when they were at a jazz bar in Vancouver in 2017. He was there filming The Mountain Between Us and she was there celebrating a friend’s birthday.
On the Just the Sip podcast, she explained that she was actually chatting him up for her friend, who had seen Idris first, on that fateful night. Like a good wingwoman, Sabrina went over to test the waters for her friend, but hey, the heart wants what it wants.
“We had the best conversation,” she said. “We talked all night, all the next day. We were inseparable after that.”
BRB, manifesting.
They made their red carpet debut in September 2017
They made things official with a red carpet walk, as one does. The big debut was at the premiere of The Mountain Between Us (yes, that’s the movie he was filming when they met) in Toronto.
They got engaged in a movie theater
THIS IS SO CUTE. Okay, so he proposed to her in February 2018 in London’s Rio Cinema at a screening of his movie Yardie, and she accepted, ofc. And the crowd went wild (literally — you can watch the video).
Sabrina and Idris tied the knot in Morocco
Their April 2019 wedding was the stuff dreams are made of, tbh. I mean, you can see what I’m talking about below….
She wore a gorgeous Vera Wang gown, which she had embroidered with a phrase that Idris has inked on his arm: “This train carries no wrongdoers.” (Sorry, I’m weeping.) They spent three days celebrating with their family and friends.
“We want the guests to leave remembering the importance of love,” Sabrina said to British Vogue. “Behind all the glitz and the flowers, that’s what matters.”
Sabrina and Idris have a lifestyle brand and podcast together
Earlier this year, Sabrina and Idris launched a project called S’able Labs. The flagship initiative is their podcast called Coupledom, which you can listen to on Audible. They interview powerful pairings like Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner plus Christian Louboutin and Mika. According to an interview with the Evening Standard, they also have potential plans to start a skincare line and other wellness products.
So maybe pretty soon we’ll be able to get these two’s glow? Fingers crossed.
