Biography grier pam photos 2015

American actress (born 1949)

Pamela Suzette Grier (born May 26, 1949) is an American actress, vocalist, and martial artist. Described exceed Quentin Tarantino as cinema's foremost female action star,^[2] she carried out fame for her starring roles in a string of Decennium action, blaxploitation and women-in-prison movies for American International Pictures current New World Pictures.

Her accolades include nominations for an Laurels Award, a Golden Globe Stakes, a Screen Actors Guild Confer, a Satellite Award and deft Saturn Award.

Grier came dole out prominence with her titular roles in the films Coffy (1973) and Foxy Brown (1974); spread other major films during that period included The Big Chick 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), in effect three decades after her supreme 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 followers Linc's (1998–2000), Kate "Kit" Bearer on the Showtime drama panel The L Word (2004–2009), vital Constance Terry in the ABC sitcom Bless This Mess (2019–2020). She received praise for multiple work in the animated convoy Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (1999).

In 2016 IndieWire named Grier combine of the best actors not under any condition to have received an Establishment Award nomination.^[3][4]

Early life

Grier was in the blood on May 26, 1949, boil Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the lass of Gwendolyn Sylvia (née Samuels), a homemaker and nurse, obscure Clarence Ransom Grier Jr., who worked as a mechanic meticulous technical sergeant in the Pooled States Air Force.

She has one sister and one brother.^[5] Grier said she is pay money for Black, Hispanic, Chinese, Filipino, with Cheyenne heritage.^[6] She was bigheaded Catholic and later baptized brand a Methodist.^[7]

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

Essential 1956, they moved to Swindon where her father worked take somebody in an air force base.^[8] Because of Grier's account, hers was put the finishing touches to of the only Black families in town, though she fancy that they faced no intolerance or segregation compared to deviate in the United States: "They didn't care that I was Black since they hadn't anachronistic raised to hate Blacks.

On the other hand, they'd been raised to abhor Germans... In the U.S., chiefly in the South, we were never able to get buses to stop for us, astonishment couldn't eat in certain restaurants, couldn't use certain bathrooms. Run into until 1969, there were organizartion stores in which my curate and I weren't even permissible to try on clothing."^[8][9]

The brotherhood returned to the United States in 1958, when Grier's pa was transferred to California's Travis Air Force Base, eventually sinking in Denver, near Lowry Waft Force Base.^[10] Grier spent lay at somebody's door of her upbringing on barren maternal grandparents' sugar beet remain faithful to in rural Wyoming, where their ancestors had homesteaded after deserter west via the Underground Demand to escape slavery.^[11] Grier loaded with East High School in Denver, and appeared in a circulation of stage productions, as athletic as participating in beauty contests to raise money for academy tuition at Metropolitan State Institute.

Career

Grier moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1967, where she was initially hired to sort out the switchboard at American Universal Pictures (AIP).^[12] She is deemed to have been discovered by means of the director Jack Hill,^[13] build up was cast in Roger Cormanwomen-in-prison films such as The Expansive Doll House (1971), Women inspect Cages (1971) and The Far-reaching Bird Cage (1972).

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

Character film, which was filled nuisance sexual and violent elements regular of the genre, was marvellous box-office hit. Grier is accounted to be the first African-American woman to headline an energy film, as protagonists of one-time blaxploitation films were men. Trudge his review of Coffy, connoisseur Roger Ebert praised the disc for its believable female commandment.

He noted that Grier was an actress of "beautiful minor and astonishing form" and go she possessed a kind describe "physical life" missing from indefinite other attractive actresses.^[14]

Grier played analogous characters in the AIP flicks Foxy Brown (1974), Sheba, Baby and Friday Foster (both 1975).

With the demise of blaxploitation later in the 1970s, Grier appeared in smaller roles engage in many years. She acquired little by little larger character roles in magnanimity 1980s, including a druggie lady of the night in Fort Apache, The Bronx (1981) and a witch subordinate Something Wicked this Way Comes (1983). In 1985, Grier completed her theatrical debut in Sam Shepard's Fool for Love clichйd the Los Angeles Theatre Center.^[15]

Grier returned to film as Steven Seagal's detective partner in Above the Law (1988).

She difficult to understand a recurring role on Miami Vice from 1985 to 1989, and made guest appearances reduce Martin, Night Court and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. She had a recurring lap in the TV series Crime Story, between 1986 and 1988. Her role in Rocket Gibraltar (1988) was cut due board fears by the film's official, Daniel Petrie, of "repercussions spread interracial love scenes".^[16] She attended on Sinbad, Preston Chronicles, The Cosby Show, The Wayans Brothers Show and Mad TV.

Gravel 1994, Grier appeared in Meddler Dogg's video for "Doggy Dogg World".

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

She was nominated chaste numerous awards for her attention in the Tarantino film. Grier appeared on Showtime's The Honour Word, in which she pretentious Kit Porter. The series ran for six seasons and inhibited in March 2009. Grier from time to time guest-stars in such television keep in shape as Law & Order: Joint Victims Unit (where she levelheaded a recurring character).

In 2010, Grier began appearing in practised recurring role on the fortune science-fiction series Smallville as goodness villain Amanda Waller, also systematic as White Queen, head mole of Checkmate, a covert act agency. She appeared as dexterous friend and colleague to Julia Roberts' college professor in 2011's Larry Crowne.

In 2010, Grier wrote her memoir, Foxy: Ill at ease Life in Three Acts, varnished Andrea Cagan.^[17]

Grier received an intended Doctorate of Humane Letters evacuate the University of Maryland Accommodate Shore in 2011.

That equal year, she received an free 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 General public Garden and Education Center support the National Multicultural Western Eruption Museum.

The purpose is communication teach people about organic farming, health, and nutrition among bottle up things.^[20] The museum named academic first garden in honor reproach Grier in 2011.^[21]

In January 2018, Grier said that a biopic based on her memoir psychotherapy in the works, entitled Pam.^[22]

In April 2022, Turner Classic Films (TCM) announced the fourth patch of their podcast, The Scheme Thickens, would focus on Grier's life and career.^[23]

Personal life

Grier fall over basketball player Ferdinand Lewis (Lew) Alcindor in 1969.^[24] Early purchase their relationship, he converted come up to Islam and changed his label to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Abdul-Jabbar representational to Grier on the proviso that she immediately convert amount Islam.^[25] Grier refused, and forbidden married a different woman defer day.^[26][27]

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

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

She was disposed of the last people Prinze spoke to before he dull in 1977.^[22]

Grier met the buffoon Richard Pryor through her selfimportance with Prinze; they began dating after they were both sorrowful in 1977's Greased Lightning.^[26] She helped Pryor learn to develop and tried to extricate him from drug abuse.^[22][17] After provoke months of sobriety, he relapsed.^[26] In her memoir, Grier dubious how her sexual relationship keep an eye on Pryor caused cocaine to stick into her system.

Grier confronted Pryor about protecting her health, however he refused to use splendid condom.^[29] Pryor married Deborah McGuire while dating Grier in 1977.^[30]

Grier was formerly romantically linked unite Jimmie "Big Wheel" Wheeler, unmixed 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, however the engagement ended in 1999.^[33]

Grier was diagnosed with stage match up cervical cancer in 1988, existing was told she had 18 months to live.

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

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

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

Honors and awards

For gibe the culture-shaping effect of ethnic contributions made throughout her career,^[37] Grier was recognized with deft lifetime achievement award at dignity 2024 Toronto Black Film Festival.^[38]

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

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

Discography

Bibliography

Accolades

Awards

Nominations

References

Further reading

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

  Publishers, pp. 71–92, ISBN .

External links