Happy Birthday wishes go out to Gabrielle Reece who turns 39 years old today. Gabrielle Allyse Reece is a professional volleyball player, model, actress, and author. She was born in La Jolla, Ca., but lived in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands until her senior year in high school. She finished high school in St. Petersburg, Florida where she was first exposed to volleyball.

At 6'3", Gabrielle attended Florida State University on a volleyball scholarship where she majored in communications. Gabrielle was inducted into the FSU Athletes Hall of Fame in 1997 and still holds several school volleyball records. Gabrielle also started her modeling career while in college and spent her summers between class schedules in New York modeling.

Gabrielle continued her modeling career after college and also began playing professional volleyball for Team Nike and won a championship with a four woman team in the Beach Volleyball World Championships.

Gabrielle appeared on the covers of such magazines as "Shape", "Women's Sports & Fitness", "ELLE", and "Life". She once posed nude for "Playboy".

Gabrielle has co-authored a book with Karen Karbo entitled "Big Girl in the Middle" about her professional volleyball career.

Gabrielle has appeared as a physical trainer in the movie "Gattaca" and as a pro beach volleyball player in "Cloud Nine". She is married to pro surfer Laird Hamilton and they have two daughters, Reece Viola Hamilton and Brody Jo Hamilton.