Sabrina Elba on Finding Purpose, Marrying the Internet’s Husband & Building S’Able Labs
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What inspired Sabrina to join the podcast and how does she define her multifaceted career?
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So obviously Idris was the world's husband at one point. So when we got married the year that he got People's Sexiest Man. So but I s I joked and said, you know, ladies and gentlemen are husband. You know, I've I've come to terms. He is the internet's husband and I've gotta share. In that sense. And I was on this talk show and I said, like, yeah, I've just like accumulated this group of sister wives who actually probably are my champions now as opposed to they just isn't it's just the best community, I cannot tell you.
Marie Claire presents You're gonna want to hear this. Hello and welcome back to You're Gonna Wanna Hear This, A Mary Claire podcast. I'm your host, Georgie McCord. Now, today I'm joined by someone who I have really been looking forward to talking to. Her name is Sabrina Dower Elba and Serena is one of those women who exists in several worlds at once. She is a model, an entrepreneur, a beauty founder, an activist, a philanthropist, and a UN Goodwill ambassador. She was born in Montreal and raised in a Somali family. She grew up watching her mother, Miriam, dedicate herself to giving back to her community. And that influence has stayed with her throughout her life. It has shaped the way that she thinks about purpose and heritage and also what it means to use your platform for something way bigger than yourself.
I think what I find most interesting about Sabrina, and there really is so much, is that she refuses to be put in a box. She has spoken about the frustration of being asked how someone who works in fashion or beauty can also have something to say at the United Nations, as though those words somehow can't coexist. But for Sabrina, they absolutely can. And she has bought that thinking into Sable Labs, the skincare brand that she co founded with her husband, who is the one and only Idris Elba. The brand combines African botanicals and traditional knowledge with modern skincare science, while putting community, ethical sourcing and representation at its heart. This is Sabrina Dower Elba and you are gonna wanna hear this.
Welcome Sabrina. I am so happy. When I heard you're in Australia, I was like, we need to get her into our podcast studio. So thank you for making the time and being here today.
It was obviously on my list of to-dos in Australia. Can't come without seeing you guys. Thank you for having me.
Now I want to talk about your mom, Miriam. No. Because she is such an important influence in your life. She's gonna love that you started this. I know. It's like talking about her. I feel like our mums give so much to us, so it's like she deserves to be first, right? A hundred percent. She uh she's put in the hardest. She sounds incredible. She fled Somalia, she raised five children as a single mother and she built a life around giving back, which explains a lot about who you are. So tell me about your mum and the influence she's had on you. And the influence she's had on you.
Yeah, interesting enough, I think she's the way she is actually because she didn't flee. She left Somalia, married my dad, who got a job of her in like Ottawa and Montreal, Canada, freezing cold, complete opposite of Somalia where she grew up. But then while she was in Canada, the civil war happened in Somalia, so she watched the country she grew up in fall apart on the news from like so far away. Knowing all of her family, her siblings, everyone was back home and she just had this like, Oh my gosh, I've I've gotta do something. I've w what can I do? How can I help? And I think that was probably a trigger for her to do a lot of the work that she does because she felt so helpless in that moment and she didn't want to ever feel like that again.
So she did manage to bring a huge amount of my family over. um and you know and reshape a lot of uh of the lives of the people in her community and and she's still to this day, you know, she has the Hoya Muddian Foundation, she'll go back whenever she can. She she gives free, clean water out to communities and she's just she's just always doing something.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What inspired Sabrina to join the podcast and how does she define her multifaceted career?
0:04–10:16
2
How did Sabrina’s mother and Somali upbringing shape her sense of purpose and advocacy?
10:16–19:07
3
Why does Sabrina refuse to be put in a single ‘box’ and how does she balance fashion, beauty, and UN work?
19:07–28:08
4
What frustrations with the beauty industry led to the creation of S’Able Labs?
28:08–37:58
5
How did Sabrina and Idris navigate building a fully inclusive, self‑funded skincare brand?
37:58–46:33
6
What are the key challenges and lessons of entrepreneurship that Sabrina shares?
46:33–56:22
7
How do Sabrina and Idris maintain a strong marriage while working together on business and philanthropy?
56:22–1:05:07
8
What impact does Sabrina aim to make through agriculture, climate work, and her new film role?
1:05:07–1:12:41
Speakers
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