Gabrielle Jacobs

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title: "Gabrielle Jacobs" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["shortland-street-characters", "fictional-physicians-in-soap-operas", "television-characters-introduced-in-2009", "autism-in-television", "autistic-fictional-characters", "fictional-surgeons", "new-zealand-female-characters-in-soap-operas"] topic_path: "arts/film" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabrielle_Jacobs" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox soap character"]

Field	Value
image	Gabrielle Jacobs.jpg
imagesize	200px
name	Gabrielle Jacobs
portrayer	Virginie Le Brun
first	13 March 2009
last	26 April 2012
series	Shortland Street
years	2009–2012
classification	Former; regular
introducer	Steven Zanoski (2009, 2011)
occupation	Surgeon
sisters	Lana Jacobs
::

Dr. Gabrielle Jacobs is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, portrayed by Virginie Le Brun throughout two stints, from 2009 to 2012. She arrived in February 2009 as a potential love interest for long serving character Chris Warner (Michael Galvin).

Appearing as the first character in the core cast with Asperger syndrome, Gabrielle was depicted as a successful Head of the Surgical Department who struggled with the social nature of her workplace. Receiving praise from Autism groups nationwide, the character brought awareness to the reality of the disorder and opportunities available to those living with Aspergers. Her storylines predominantly centred on her career advancement and romances.

The character's unusual and comedic ways saw Gabrielle become vastly popular amongst fans, winning "Favourite Female Character" at the Throng Shortland Street Fan Awards 2009.

Creation and casting

Virginie Le Brun was cast as the character of Gabrielle, an over-achieving doctor with Asperger syndrome. Le Brun was undergoing some family medical issues at the time, making surgery scenes difficult to endure. The casting was made public in January 2009 and it was said that Gabrielle's arrival in March would "immediately cause some consternation amongst her fellow colleagues." This axing came from mutual agreement between Le Brun and Producer Steven Zanoski agreed that the character and storylines had come to an end.

Following weeks of speculation in the media, in March 2011 it was announced Gabrielle would be returning to Shortland Street after over a year off-screen. Zanoski had seen a high-demand from fans for the character to return and felt the storyline necessitated this, "as stories developed following Gabrielle's departure it became apparent that the character had unfinished business. After all, she is the only woman to have broken Chris Warner's heart." After being contacted to return, Le Brun thrilled, "It's been so exciting to be back in the building and playing Gabrielle again. I love the character and it has been lovely to catch-up with the cast and crew. I am looking forward to finding out what the writers have in store for me!" with Le Brun finding closure, "The first time it felt quite scary but this time is different. When I left in 2010, I felt I hadn’t done everything with the character that I wanted to. This time around, I feel like I’ve scratched that itch." The character made her last appearance on 26 April 2012.

Storylines

Gabrielle arrived after being hired to head the Surgery department following the murder of Ethan Pierce (Owen Black). Her absurd and antisocial behaviour amused yet confused several members of staff including CEO Callum McKay (Peter Mochrie), Chris Warner (Michael Galvin) and annoyed nurse Tania Jeffries (Faye Smythe). Gabrielle started a relationship with Kip Denton (Will Hall), who quickly tired of the lack of emotion in the relationship and dumped her. Gabrielle struggled to operate on an ex-boyfriend but was comforted by Chris, enabling her to carry through the procedure. After running over a cat, an emotional Gabrielle admitted she loved Chris. Chris' partner Libby (Fleur Saville) was appalled and tried to set Gabrielle up with Luke Durville (Gerald Urquhart), who Gabrielle showed no attraction to. Chris soon admitted his love and they started to date, while Gabrielle saved Libby from a dangerous fire.

After being offered a job in Zürich, Gabrielle began to question emotions and when Chris talked down to her, she broke it off with him and left the country. A year later, Gabrielle returned to the hospital and was instantly confronted with feelings towards Chris. She jumped into a relationship with manipulative Shane Tucker (Jason Hood) and later dated Jonathon McKenna (Kieren Hutchison). Gabrielle was fazed by the arrival of estranged sister Lana Jacobs (Brooke Williams), however the two made up. Jonathon left her heartbroken after growing sick of her, sending Gabrielle into a nervous breakdown. Gabrielle admitted her love to Chris and the two succumbed to an affair. However it was short lived and Gabrielle realised she had been used. Gabrielle received a job offer in Sweden and though initially manipulated by Chris to stay, Gabrielle asserted her independence and departed after a farewell hosted by Lana.

Character development

Characterisation

Gabrielle is described as a no-fuss high achiever who knows what she wants and is highly intelligent. Due to her Asperger syndrome, Gabrielle is socially awkward and only gives eye contact if necessary. Though awkward she is confident. She also described Gabrielle's bluntness, saying; "She says things no one else would dream of saying, or they would but three seconds later respond with 'I can't believe I just said that!' But she doesn't realise it's inappropriate." She has also been described as "quirky".

Asperger syndrome

By introducing a character with Asperger syndrome, producers sought to break ground, after previously receiving controversy over the character Angus Phelps who suffered from Tourettes Syndrome. [[File:Gabrielle admits love to Chris.jpg|204x204px|thumb|Producer – Steven Zanoski, encouraged Le Brun and Galvin to don Christmas outfits in this scene from December 2011 where Gabrielle admits her love to Chris. The episode was viewed by 640,000 viewers.]]

Relationship with Chris Warner

The character of Gabrielle was originally written into the show as a potential love interest for long serving character Chris Warner. The two were referred to as "Spock and Kirk" by a writer of the show, referencing the famous Star Trek characters. While Chris was involved with Libby Jeffries, he and Gabrielle started to share a lot of scenes together on screen, with Chris being one of the only characters to accept Gabrielle's aspergers. Chris eventually fell in love with Gabrielle and admitted this at his farewell party in front of Libby. After arriving back in New Zealand he dumps Libby for Gabrielle, though she is at first hesitant, worried she has hurt Libby. The two eventually get together and settle down, with Chris thinking Gabrielle is 'the one'. Gabrielle soon grows sick of Chris patronizing her and dumps him shortly before leaving the country. Upon her return in April 2011, Gabrielle struggles not to be jealous of Chris moving on with Rachel McKenna and later states she is still in love with Chris. Le Brun enjoyed the pairing of Gabrielle and Chris, stating; "There was a nice dynamic between them because Chris is so used to being the top gun in everything. For once, someone could challenge him to do things he hadn't done before such as playing mental chess. I think it was that sort of thing that put him on the back foot and why he had his heart broken."

Reception

Gabrielle has been seen as highly popular to fans, taking out "Favourite Female Character" at the Throng Shortland Street Fan Awards 2009 and winning runner up in "Favourite New Character" and "Funniest Moment". In 2012, the character was named as one of the standout characters of the show's first 20 years.

Hugh Sundae of The New Zealand Herald praised Gabrielle, saying anything involving the character was bound to be good. Brooke Williams who appeared as Gabrielle's sister Lana Jacobs in July 2011 stated upon arrival that Gabrielle was her favourite character.

As soon as she learnt about her character's condition, Le Brun accepted the heavy scrutiny she was going to receive due to the controversy of the topic. Le Brun received positive feedback for her portrayal of Asperger's Syndrome. Mothers of teenagers with the syndrome said their children had taken pride in seeing Gabrielle's character on TV. Le Brun explained the benefits of portraying the role as helping educate viewers about Asperger's, stating; "Kids who have Asperger's have tuned in where they might not have done so before. I think they can find it quite reassuring. We've had the odd email or mums saying they look at it as a bit of an inspiration that while things are difficult, you can do good things with your life." Le Brun met with people from Asperger's organisations and was pleased with the positive reception.

References

(March 2009). "Virginie's juicy new role". [[Fairfax Media]].
Glucina, Rachel. (March 2009). "New stars set to sex up 'Shortland St'". [[APN News & Media]].
Dewe, Nicky. (4 January 2010). "Shortland Street's Virginie: My Dad's cancer crisis". [[New Zealand Woman's Weekly]].
Dewe, Nicky. (28 March 2011). "Shorty Star's Double Life". New Zealand Woman's Day.
Palmer, Rebecca. (March 2011). "Doctor returns to rock the Shorty boat". [[Fairfax Media]].
(March 2011). "The rumours are true". [[Television New Zealand]].
(March 2011). "Shortland Street – Weeknights on TV2". Throng.
(23 April 2012). "Shorty Superstars". Shortland Street 20th Anniversary Magazine.
(19 May 2012). "Shortland Street's Virginie Le Brun's long-distance engagement". New Zealand Woman's Weekly.
(December 2009). "Favourite doctor feels right at home". [[Fairfax Media]].
McConnoghie, Trudie. (March 2009). "Bubbly combination". [[APN News & Media]].
Smith, Janie. (10 November 2011). "Breaking up is hard to do". New Zealand TV Guide.
(13 December 2011). "Shorltand Tweet - 13 December 2011". [[Twitter]].
(14 December 2011). "TV Ratings: 13 December 2011". Throng.
(12 December 2011). "10:19 PM - 12 Dec 11". [[Twitter]].
"Shorty St Hook-ups of 2010 pt 1". [[Television New Zealand]].
(August 2009). "Shortland Street: Monday 03 August – Friday 07 August 2009". Throng.
Nealon, Sarah. (February 2010). "Will love conquer all?". New Zealand TV Guide.
(16 December 2011). "What happened in our 2011 season finale?". [[Television New Zealand]].
(December 2009). "Shortland Street Fan awards 2009 - Winners". Throng.
Sundae, Hugh. (July 2011). "TV review: Shortland Street". [[APN News & Media]].
Smith, Jacqueline. (July 2011). "Going for Brooke". [[APN News & Media]].

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