Penei Sewell Sister Gabriella Sewell Was A Track And Field Star

Penei Sewell sister Gabriella Sewell ran track and field in high school.  Gabriella went to Desert Hills HS in Saint George, Utah. 

Despite all four of her brothers continuing their athletic journey after high school graduation, Gabriella decided to drop her running dreams. She instead opted to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Art with an emphasis on Graphic Design from Dixie State University. 

Since 2021, she has worked as an associate at Amazon, Salt Lake City, Utah. In a post dedicated to her self-love journey, she wrote, “During Covid, while working at the Amazon warehouse, I would lift heavier items and move faster than a person who is considered to be a normal weight on the BMI and workout after work.”

Gabriella also designs clothes as a hobby. She has a small tailoring station set up at her home where she makes all kinds of different outfits for her and her nieces and nephews. 

Penei’s sibling often promotes her family’s non-profit organization, The Sewell Strong Foundation. The non-profit focuses on providing support initiatives for education, counseling, career opportunities, mental health, athletics, and other charitable causes. The foundation was only founded this year by the Sewell siblings, Gabriel Sr., Arlene, Gabriella, Gabriel Jr., Nephi, Penei, and Noah Sewell.

Sewell is an advocate for body positivity. In an Instagram post of her posing boldly in a swimsuit, she writes, “If people’s weight can change, then why can’t people’s view of plus size change?” 

While she is not very active on social media, she does like to show her support for her brothers’ games at @gabriella_sewell. 

Gabriella Sewell is originally from American Samoa with her family only moving to the US in 2012. 

The Sewell family came from humble beginnings. By accounts from Gabriella’s mom and dad, Arlene and Gabriel Sewell Sr, the family lived in a tiny one-bedroom house with metal roofs that would sometimes be blown away during storms. 

“It was crazy, but the fun thing is the kids had each other,” Gabriel said in an interview with John Canzano. 

Gabriel Sr. and Arlene eventually moved to Utah, US, in search of a better future for the kids. They saw the potential in all five kids to have promising careers in sports, so they decided that good college opportunities in the states were what the kids needed.

Gabriella still lives in Utah but visits Hawaii and her hometown in American Samoa for vacations. She still seems very close to her family. While she is single, Gabriella loves to spend time with her nieces and nephews. 

The second half of 2022 has been very prosperous for the siblings as three new Sewell children have entered the world. Penei recently had a son named Malakai with his wife, Isabella. Malakai has already started attending his dad’s games at barely two months old.

Nephi Sewell also had a son earlier this year in September. He and his wife Maddie named him Ziah.

Gabriel Sewell Jr. had his second child, also in September of this year. He and his wife Lalolagi are proud parents of a girl and a boy, both under 2.

Gabriella Sewell comes from a family of athletes. All four of her brothers play American football. 

Her dad Gabriel Sr. has been a football coach for most of his life in the US. Currently, he is the head football coach at Orem High School. Gabriel Sr. was undoubtedly the first coach and manager for his sons. 

Her brother Penei has been making all the headlines recently in the world of the NFL.  In his second year playing in the country’s biggest league for four-time champions Detroit Lions, Penei has been fighting hard for his team.

In 2021, Penei was drafted No. 7 overall by the Detroit Lions. Currently, he is sitting on a $24 million contract. The Sewells certainly could not have expected this level of success from Penei when he first started playing football in high school. At 6’5″, 330 lbs, and a wingspan of 81″, Penei is a giant on the field and wants to be a giant name in the history books.  

23-year-old Nephi Sewell also started playing football in high school but was told he would never play again after suffering from a broken neck. Determined, he made his miraculous recovery in time to make the senior high school team. His high school performance earned him a college scholarship.

Nephi played college football as a linebacker at the University of Nevada. He became an immediate star from his debut college game, finishing his season with 58 tackles in 12 games. The New Orleans Saints signed him as a free agent after going undrafted in 2022. He made his NFL debut recently against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 20-10 loss. 

Gabriel Jr. earned a scholarship at the University of Nevada Reno and graduated with a degree in kinesiology. He was one of the key players on his college team, finishing his 4-year career with 282 total tackles and 21.5 tackles for a loss. The pandemic hurt his NFL draft in 2020, but now he plays as a linebacker for the Philadelphia Stars in the USFL. 

The baby of the family, Noah Sewell, is in his last season of college football. He plays as a linebacker for the Oregon Ducks. In 2021, he was named the Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year. As his graduation approaches, Noah is preparing to impress the scouts to join his brother Penei in the NFL.