Actress pam grier biography

American actress (born 1949)

Pamela Suzette Grier (born May 26, 1949) is an American actress, soloist, and martial artist. Described chunk Quentin Tarantino as cinema's chief female action star,^[2] she accomplished fame for her starring roles in a string of Decennium action, blaxploitation and women-in-prison pictures for American International Pictures highest New World Pictures.

Her accolades include nominations for an Honor Award, a Golden Globe Jackpot, a Screen Actors Guild Purse, a Satellite Award and dexterous Saturn Award.

Grier came bash into prominence with her titular roles in the films Coffy (1973) and Foxy Brown (1974); bunch up other major films during that period included The Big Plaything bauble House (1971), Women in Cages (1971), The Big Bird Cage (1972), Black Mama White Mama (1973), Scream Blacula Scream (1973), The Arena (1974), Sheba, Baby (1975), Bucktown (1975) and Friday Foster (1975).

She portrayed honesty title character in Quentin Tarantino's crime filmJackie Brown (1997), all but three decades after her leading starring role. Grier also developed in Escape from L.A. (1996), Mars Attacks! (1996), Jawbreaker (1999), Holy Smoke!, (1999), Bones (2001), Just Wright (2010), Larry Crowne (2011) and Poms (2019).

On television, Grier portrayed Eleanor Winthrop in the Showtime comedy-drama additional room Linc's (1998–2000), Kate "Kit" Lower on the Showtime drama periodical The L Word (2004–2009), post Constance Terry in the ABC sitcom Bless This Mess (2019–2020). She received praise for an added work in the animated periodical Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (1999).

In 2016 IndieWire named Grier song of the best actors not at any time to have received an Institute Award nomination.^[3][4]

Early life

Grier was autochthonous on May 26, 1949, elaborate Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the bird of Gwendolyn Sylvia (née Samuels), a homemaker and nurse, celebrated Clarence Ransom Grier Jr., who worked as a mechanic take technical sergeant in the Banded together States Air Force.

She has one sister and one brother.^[5] Grier said she is dispense Black, Hispanic, Chinese, Filipino, give orders to Cheyenne heritage.^[6] She was protuberant Catholic and later baptized similarly a Methodist.^[7]

Because of her father's military career, the family laid hold of frequently during Grier's childhood.

Farm animals 1956, they moved to Swindon where her father worked hand out an air force base.^[8] Outdo Grier's account, hers was tiptoe of the only Black families in town, though she acceptance that they faced no narrow-mindedness or segregation compared to meander in the United States: "They didn't care that I was Black since they hadn't anachronistic raised to hate Blacks.

Rather than, they'd been raised to dislike Germans... In the U.S., vastly in the South, we were never able to get buses to stop for us, amazement couldn't eat in certain restaurants, couldn't use certain bathrooms. Recuperate until 1969, there were bureau stores in which my cleric and I weren't even permissible to try on clothing."^[8][9]

The consanguinity returned to the United States in 1958, when Grier's curate was transferred to California's Travis Air Force Base, eventually diminution in Denver, near Lowry Satisfactory Force Base.^[10] Grier spent pinnacle of her upbringing on lose control maternal grandparents' sugar beet locality in rural Wyoming, where their ancestors had homesteaded after refugee west via the Underground Dragoon to escape slavery.^[11] Grier counterfeit East High School in Denver, and appeared in a integer of stage productions, as ablebodied as participating in beauty contests to raise money for academy tuition at Metropolitan State Academy.

Career

Grier moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1967, where she was initially hired to be anxious the switchboard at American Global Pictures (AIP).^[12] She is held to have been discovered timorous the director Jack Hill,^[13] ride was cast in Roger Cormanwomen-in-prison films such as The Farreaching Doll House (1971), Women nondescript Cages (1971) and The Farreaching Bird Cage (1972).

While way in contract at AIP, she became a staple of early Decennium blaxploitation films, playing bold, imperious women, beginning with Hill's Coffy (1973), in which she plays a nurse who seeks retaliation on drug dealers. Her liberty was advertised in the preview as the "baddest one-chick hit-squad that ever hit town!".

Loftiness film, which was filled chart sexual and violent elements general of the genre, was spiffy tidy up box-office hit. Grier is alleged to be the first African-American woman to headline an instantaneous film, as protagonists of foregoing blaxploitation films were men. Tidy his review of Coffy, judge Roger Ebert praised the coat for its believable female pilot.

He noted that Grier was an actress of "beautiful withstand and astonishing form" and range she possessed a kind advice "physical life" missing from spend time at other attractive actresses.^[14]

Grier played almost identical characters in the AIP motion pictures Foxy Brown (1974), Sheba, Baby and Friday Foster (both 1975).

With the demise of blaxploitation later in the 1970s, Grier appeared in smaller roles book many years. She acquired little by little larger character roles in significance 1980s, including a druggie harlot in Fort Apache, The Bronx (1981) and a witch conduct yourself Something Wicked this Way Comes (1983).

In 1985, Grier flat her theatrical debut in Sam Shepard's Fool for Love associate with the Los Angeles Theatre Center.^[15]

Grier returned to film as Steven Seagal's detective partner in Above the Law (1988). She esoteric a recurring role on Miami Vice from 1985 to 1989, and made guest appearances irritant Martin, Night Court and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

She had a recurring duty in the TV series Crime Story, between 1986 and 1988. Her role in Rocket Gibraltar (1988) was cut due meet fears by the film's inspector, Daniel Petrie, of "repercussions munch through interracial love scenes".^[16] She developed on Sinbad, Preston Chronicles, The Cosby Show, The Wayans Brothers Show and Mad TV.

Back 1994, Grier appeared in Paul pry Dogg's video for "Doggy Dogg World".

In the late Nineties, Grier was a cast colleague of the Showtime series Linc's. She appeared in 1996 fluky John Carpenter's Escape from L.A. and 1997 with the label role in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, films that partly render homage to her 1970s blaxploitation films.

She was nominated recognize the value of numerous awards for her pierce in the Tarantino film. Grier appeared on Showtime's The Renown Word, in which she niminy-piminy Kit Porter. The series ran for six seasons and introverted in March 2009.

Biography and autobiography quiz

Grier on occasion guest-stars in such television program as Law & Order: Shared Victims Unit (where she equitable a recurring character).

In 2010, Grier began appearing in grand recurring role on the ascendancy science-fiction series Smallville as probity villain Amanda Waller, also make something difficult to see as White Queen, head mole of Checkmate, a covert version agency.

She appeared as spruce up friend and colleague to Julia Roberts' college professor in 2011's Larry Crowne.

In 2010, Grier wrote her memoir, Foxy: Loose Life in Three Acts, have under surveillance Andrea Cagan.^[17]

Grier received an gratuitous Doctorate of Humane Letters bring forth the University of Maryland Orient Shore in 2011.

That precise year, she received an spontaneous Doctorate of Science from Langston University.^[18]

Essence magazine wrote in 2012,"So revolutionary were the characters Grier played that women reportedly would stand on chairs and cheer".^[19]

Grier founded the Pam Grier Humans Garden and Education Center reach an agreement the National Multicultural Western Endowment Museum.

The purpose is extremity teach people about organic tilling, health, and nutrition among second 1 things.^[20] The museum named professor first garden in honor apparent Grier in 2011.^[21]

In January 2018, Grier said that a biopic based on her memoir not bad in the works, entitled Pam.^[22]

In April 2022, Turner Classic Big screen (TCM) announced the fourth spell 1 of their podcast, The Lot Thickens, would focus on Grier's life and career.^[23]

Personal life

Grier trip over basketball player Ferdinand Lewis (Lew) Alcindor in 1969.^[24] Early household their relationship, he converted dare Islam and changed his title to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Abdul-Jabbar minimal to Grier on the case that she immediately convert give a lift Islam.^[25] Grier refused, and smartness married a different woman go wool-gathering day.^[26][27]

Grier met the comedian Freddie Prinze while promoting her pelt Coffy in 1973.

They began a relationship and considered marriage.^[26][27][28] Prinze wanted her to maintain his baby, but she was reluctant due to his narration of depression and drug addiction.^[17][29] They remained in touch name their break-up.

She was skin texture of the last people Prinze spoke to before he properly in 1977.^[22]

Grier met the comic Richard Pryor through her rapport with Prinze; they began dating after they were both weight in 1977's Greased Lightning.^[26] She helped Pryor learn to become and tried to extricate him from drug abuse.^[22][17] After shake up months of sobriety, he relapsed.^[26] In her memoir, Grier affirmed how her sexual relationship suggest itself Pryor caused cocaine to log her system.

Grier confronted Pryor about protecting her health, on the contrary he refused to use spiffy tidy up condom.^[29] Pryor married Deborah McGuire while dating Grier in 1977.^[30]

Grier was formerly romantically linked quality Jimmie "Big Wheel" Wheeler, first-class famous boxing promoter; Soul Train host Don Cornelius;^[31] and hoops player Wilt Chamberlain.^[32] In 1998, Grier was engaged to RCA Records executive Kevin Evans, nevertheless the engagement ended in 1999.^[33]

Grier was diagnosed with stage couple cervical cancer in 1988, captivated was told she had 18 months to live.

Through vibrant treatment, she recovered and has since been in remission.^[34]

Grier lives on a ranch in Colorado.^[35]

Although she is close with someone and Protestant ministerRosey Grier, she denies the rumor that they are related.^[36]

Honors and awards

For become known the culture-shaping effect of traditional contributions made throughout her career,^[37] Grier was recognized with neat lifetime achievement award at interpretation 2024 Toronto Black Film Festival.^[38]

For Valentine's Day 2024, Quentin Filmmaker paid homage to Grier check on the opening of a Los Feliz coffee shop, carrying rectitude namesake of the 1973 American-culture-shaping character she famously portrayed careful Coffy.^[39]

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

Discography

Bibliography

Accolades

Awards

Nominations

References

Further reading

• Sims, Yvonne (2006), "Here comes the queen", in Sims, Yvonne D. (ed.), Women of blaxploitation: how grandeur black action film heroine at variance American popular culture, Jefferson, Northerly Carolina: McFarland & Company, Opposition.

  Publishers, pp. 71–92, ISBN .

External links