After doing a bit of theater at Iowa State, Gabriel got her start working as an actor and dancer in Chicago theater, first as part of her further studies, and then in various productions.
Gabriel's first major role was in a 2011 drama called In Memoriam. She began her career as a television actress with minor recurring roles in Good Girls Revolt and Westworld and her first major role was in the 2016 horror sequel, The Purge: Election Year.
Gabriel was on vacation when she was invited to audition for Get Out. She sent in her interview tape from the mountains of Cusco, Peru.She says she prepared for the role by watching the TED talk of Martin Pistorius to get insight into the feeling of being trapped inside one's own body. She also watched Bride of Frankenstein and talked to her own grandmother, who was raised in Alabama, about racial tensions from her era. Director Jordan Peele said that they shot over 11 takes, with each take getting better and better. The last take is the one that is in the final film.
Gabriel was in Australia filming the science fiction body horror film Upgrade, as the female lead, when Get Out was released in the US. She drew parallels between historical race relations in the US and in Australia stating being in Australia while I was watching it, I was learning a lot about the Aboriginal culture there and how that basically mirrors what went on in America with the genocide of the Native Americans and slavery. The Aboriginals there, they sort of got both experiences and it’s pretty tragic, so I thought about why colonization is such a horrible reality and has been throughout the ages."
Gabriel's role in Get Out was discussed as a contender for Best Supporting Actress for the 2018 Academy Awards by Variety and The New York Times. The New York Times cited her role as Georgina as one of the best performances of 2017.
Gabriel starred opposite Logan Marshall-Green in the sci-fi action horror film Upgrade (2018), written and directed by Leigh Whannell, and shot on location in Melbourne, Australia.Gabriel has been in six projects by Blumhouse Productions, The Purge: Election Year, 12 Deadly Days, Get Out, Upgrade, Unfriended: Dark Web, and Adopt A Highway. In 2017, Gabriel joined the cast of Westworld as the character Maling. In February 2018, it was announced she would join the second season of Counterpart playing an FBI agent.
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