Gabourey Sidibe (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

By Lynn Elber

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Gabourey Sidibe (GA’-buh-ray SIH’-dee-bay) is pinching herself over her unexpected life, which includes an Oscar nomination and a new TV series.

At a meeting Thursday of the Television Critics Association in Beverly Hills, Sidibe described herself as a “middle-of-the-lane, very normal” person who’d planned to be a receptionist.

The 27-year-old Sidibe said it’s been a “strange year” that’s included her Academy Award nod for her role as a teenager who rises above abuse in ‘Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire‘ and her co-starring role in Showtime’s ‘The Big C.’

The comedy-drama stars Laura Linney as a schoolteacher confronting a terminal-cancer diagnosis. Sidibe plays a smart-alec student.

‘The Big C’ debuts 10:30 p.m. EDT Monday, Aug. 16, on Showtime.

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