Pam Grier | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Grier in 2022 | |
| Born | Pamela Suzette Grier (1949-05-26)May 26, 1949 (age 75)[1] |
| Alma mater | Metropolitan State College |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1970–present |
Pamela Suzette Grier (born May 26, 1949) is an American actress, singer, and martial artist. Described byQuentin Tarantino as cinema's first female action star,[2] she achieved fame for her starring roles in a string of 1970saction,blaxploitation andwomen-in-prison films forAmerican International Pictures andNew World Pictures. Her accolades include nominations for anEmmy Award, aGolden Globe Award, aScreen Actors Guild Award, aSatellite Award and aSaturn Award.
Grier came to prominence with her titular roles in the filmsCoffy (1973) andFoxy Brown (1974); her other major films during this period includedThe Big Doll 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) andFriday Foster (1975). She portrayed the title character inQuentin Tarantino'scrime filmJackie Brown (1997), nearly three decades after her first starring role. Grier also appeared inEscape from L.A. (1996),Mars Attacks! (1996),Jawbreaker (1999),Holy Smoke!, (1999),Bones (2001),Just Wright (2010),Larry Crowne (2011) andPoms (2019).
On television, Grier portrayed Eleanor Winthrop in theShowtime comedy-drama seriesLinc's (1998–2000), Kate "Kit" Porter on the Showtime drama seriesThe L Word (2004–2009), and Constance Terry in theABC sitcomBless This Mess (2019–2020). She received praise for her work in the animated seriesHappily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (1999).
In 2016IndieWire named Grier one of the best actors never to have received anAcademy Award nomination.[3][4]
Grier was born on May 26, 1949, inWinston-Salem, North Carolina, the daughter of Gwendolyn Sylvia (née Samuels), ahomemaker andnurse, and Clarence Ransom Grier Jr., who worked as amechanic andtechnical sergeant in theUnited States Air Force. She has one sister and one brother.[5] Grier said she is of Black, Hispanic, Chinese, Filipino, and Cheyenne heritage.[6] She was raised Catholic and later baptized as a Methodist.[7]
Because of her father's military career, the family moved frequently during Grier's childhood. In 1956, they moved toSwindon where her father worked on an air force base.[8] By Grier's account, hers was one of the only Black families in town, though she recalled that they faced no racism or segregation compared to that in the United States: "They didn't care that I was Black since they hadn't been raised to hate Blacks. Instead, they'd been raised to hate Germans... In the U.S., especially in the South, we were never able to get buses to stop for us, we couldn't eat in certain restaurants, couldn't use certain bathrooms. Up until 1969, there were department stores in which my father and I weren't even allowed to try on clothing."[8][9]
The family returned to the United States in 1958, when Grier's father was transferred to California'sTravis Air Force Base, eventually settling inDenver, nearLowry Air Force Base.[10] Grier spent part of her upbringing on her maternal grandparents'sugar beet farm in ruralWyoming, where their ancestors had homesteaded after fleeing west via theUnderground Railroad to escape slavery.[11] Grier attendedEast High School in Denver, and appeared in a number of stage productions, as well as participating inbeauty contests to raise money for collegetuition atMetropolitan State College.
Grier moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1967, where she was initially hired to work the switchboard atAmerican International Pictures (AIP).[12] She is believed to have been discovered by the directorJack Hill,[13] and was cast inRoger Cormanwomen-in-prison films such asThe Big Doll House (1971),Women in Cages (1971) andThe Big Bird Cage (1972). While under contract at AIP, she became a staple of early 1970sblaxploitation films, playing bold, assertive women, beginning with Hill'sCoffy (1973), in which she plays a nurse who seeks revenge ondrug dealers. Her character was advertised in the trailer as the "baddest one-chick hit-squad that ever hit town!". The film, which was filled with sexual and violent elements typical of the genre, was a box-office hit. Grier is considered to be the first African-American woman to headline an action film, as protagonists of previousblaxploitation films were men. In his review ofCoffy, criticRoger Ebert praised the film for its believable female lead. He noted that Grier was an actress of "beautiful face and astonishing form" and that she possessed a kind of "physical life" missing from many other attractiveactresses.[14]
Grier played similar characters in the AIP filmsFoxy Brown (1974),Sheba, Baby andFriday Foster (both 1975). With the demise of blaxploitation later in the 1970s, Grier appeared in smaller roles for many years. She acquired progressively larger character roles in the 1980s, including a druggieprostitute inFort Apache, The Bronx (1981) and a witch inSomething Wicked this Way Comes (1983). In 1985, Grier made her theatrical debut inSam Shepard'sFool for Love at theLos Angeles Theatre Center.[15]
Grier returned to film asSteven Seagal's detective partner inAbove the Law (1988). She had a recurring role onMiami Vice from 1985 to 1989, and made guest appearances onMartin,Night Court andThe Fresh Prince of Bel Air. She had a recurring role in the TV seriesCrime Story, between 1986 and 1988. Her role inRocket Gibraltar (1988) was cut due (according to Grier) to fears by the film's director,Daniel Petrie, of "repercussions from interracial love scenes".[16] She appeared onSinbad,Preston Chronicles,The Cosby Show,The Wayans Bros., andMad TV. In 1994, Grier appeared inSnoop Dogg's video for "Doggy Dogg World".
In the late 1990s, Grier was a cast member of the Showtime seriesLinc's. She appeared in 1996 inJohn Carpenter'sEscape from L.A. and 1997 with the title role inQuentin Tarantino'sJackie Brown, films that partly paid homage to her 1970s blaxploitation films. She was nominated for numerous awards for her work in the Tarantino film. Grier appeared onShowtime'sThe L Word, in which she playedKit Porter. The series ran for six seasons and ended in March 2009. Grier occasionally guest-stars in such television series asLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit (where she is a recurring character).
In 2010, Grier began appearing in a recurring role on the hit science-fiction seriesSmallville as the villainAmanda Waller, also known as White Queen, head agent ofCheckmate, a covert operations agency. She appeared as a friend and colleague toJulia Roberts' college professor in 2011'sLarry Crowne.
In 2010, Grier wrote her memoir,Foxy: My Life in Three Acts, with Andrea Cagan.[17]
Grier received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from theUniversity of Maryland Eastern Shore in 2011. That same year, she received an honorary Doctorate of Science fromLangston 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 Community Garden and Education Center with theNational Multicultural Western Heritage Museum. The purpose is to teach people about organic gardening, health, and nutrition among other things.[20] The museum named its first garden in honor of Grier in 2011.[21]
In January 2018, Grier said that a biopic based on her memoir is in the works, entitledPam.[22]
In April 2022,Turner Classic Movies (TCM) announced the fourth season of their podcast,The Plot Thickens, would focus on Grier's life and career.[23]
Grier met basketball player Ferdinand Lewis (Lew) Alcindor in 1969.[24] Early in their relationship, he converted to Islam and changed his name toKareem Abdul-Jabbar. Abdul-Jabbar proposed to Grier on the condition that she immediately convert to Islam.[25] Grier refused, and he married a different woman that day.[26][27]
Grier met the comedianFreddie Prinze while promoting her filmCoffy in 1973. They began a relationship and considered marriage.[26][27][28] Prinze wanted her to have his baby, but she was reluctant due to his history ofdepression anddrug addiction.[17][29] They remained in touch after their break-up. She was one of the last people Prinze spoke to before he died in 1977.[22]
Grier met the comedianRichard Pryor through her relationship with Prinze; they began dating after they were both cast in 1977'sGreased Lightning.[26] She helped Pryor learn to read and tried to extricate him from drug abuse.[22][17] After six months of sobriety, he relapsed.[26] In her memoir, Grier described how her sexual relationship with Pryor causedcocaine to enter her system. Grier confronted Pryor about protecting her health, but he refused to use a condom.[29] Pryor marriedDeborah McGuire while dating Grier in 1977.[30]
Grier was formerly romantically linked to Jimmie "Big Wheel" Wheeler, a famous boxing promoter;Soul Train hostDon Cornelius;[31] and basketball playerWilt Chamberlain.[32] In 1998, Grier was engaged toRCA Records executiveKevin Evans, but the engagement ended in 1999.[33]
Grier was diagnosed with stage fourcervical cancer in 1988, and was told she had 18 months to live. Through vigorous treatment, she recovered and has since been in remission.[34]
Grier lives on a ranch in Colorado.[35]
Although she is close with actor andProtestant ministerRosey Grier, she denies the rumor that they are related.[36]
For her the culture-shaping effect of cultural contributions made throughout her career,[37] Grier was recognized with a lifetime achievement award at the 2024 Toronto Black Film Festival.[38]
For Valentine's Day 2024,Quentin Tarantino paid homage to Grier with the opening of a Los Feliz coffee shop, carrying the namesake of the 1973 American-culture-shaping character she famously portrayed inCoffy.[39]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Roots: The Next Generations | Francey | Episode: "Part IV (1917–1921)" |
| 1980 | The Love Boat | Cynthia Wilbur | Episode: "Kinfolk / Sis & the Slicker / Moonlight & Moonshine / Too Close for Comfort / The Affair: Part 1 & 2" |
| 1985 | Badge of the Assassin | Alexandra Horn | Television film |
| 1985–90 | Miami Vice | Valerie Gordon | Recurring cast (season 1–2, 5) |
| 1986 | Night Court | Benet Collins | Episode: "Hurricane: Part 1 & 2" |
| 1986–88 | Crime Story | Suzanne Terry | Recurring cast |
| 1987 | The Cosby Show | Samantha | Episode: "Planning Parenthood" |
| 1988 | Frank's Place | Neema Sharone | Episode: "Frank's Place – The Movie" |
| 1989 | Midnight Caller | Susan Province | Episode: "Blood Red" |
| 1990 | Knots Landing | Lieutenant Guthrie | Recurring cast (season 12) |
| 1991 | Monsters | Matilde | Episode: "Hostile Takeover" |
| 1992 | Pacific Station | Grace Ballard | Episode: "My Favorite Dad" |
| A Mother's Right: The Elizabeth Morgan Story | Linda Holman | Television film | |
| 1994 | In Living Color | Herself | Episode: "Mrs. Ikefire" |
| The Sinbad Show | Lynn Montgomery | Episode: "The Telethon" | |
| The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Janice Robertson | Episode: "M is for the Many Things She Gave Me" | |
| 1995 | The Marshal | Marshal Vanetta Brown | Episode: "Rainbow Comix" |
| Martin | Herself | Episode: "All the Players Came" | |
| 1996 | Sparks | Ms. Grayson | Episode: "Pillow Talk" |
| The Wayans Bros. | Erica | Episode: "Goin' to the Net" | |
| 1998 | Mad TV | Host | Episode: "#3.25" |
| Pinky and the Brain | Julie Auburn | Voice, episode: "Inherit the Wheeze"[45] | |
| Family Blessings | Mrs. Quincy | Television film | |
| 1998–2000 | Linc's | Eleanor Winthrop | Main cast |
| 1999 | The Wild Thornberrys | Mother Springbok | Voice, episode: "Stick Your Neck Out"[45] |
| Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | The Empress' Nightingale | Voice, episode: "The Empress' Nightingale" | |
| Hayley Wagner, Star | Sam | Television film | |
| For Your Love | Brenda | Episode: "The Sins of the Mother and... the Boyfriend" | |
| 2001 | Strange Frequency | Episode: "Time Is on My Side" | |
| The Feast of All Saints | Suzzette Lermontant | Television film | |
| 2002 | Night Visions | Dr. Lewis | Episode: "Switch" |
| Justice League | My'ria'h | Voice, episodes: "A Knight of Shadows Part 1 and 2"[45] | |
| 2002–03 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Asst. US Attorney Claudia Williams | 2 episodes |
| 2003 | First to Die | Claire Washburn | Television film |
| 2004–09 | The L Word | Kit Porter | Main cast (70 episodes) |
| 2008 | Ladies of the House | Roberta "Birdie" Marchand | Television film |
| 2010 | Smallville | Amanda Waller | 3 episodes (season 9) |
| 2015 | Cleveland Abduction | Nurse Carla | Television film |
| 2018–19 | This Is Us | Grandma | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | A Christmas Wish | Mary | Television film |
| 2019–20 | Bless This Mess | Constance Terry | Main cast (26 episodes) |
| 2022 | The Great North | Neckbone | Voice, episode: "Slide & Wet-Judice Adventure" |
| 2024 | Them | Athena Reeve | Main cast (8 episodes) |
| Bob's Burgers | Evelyn | Voice, episode: "Saving Favorite Drive-In" | |
| Mystery Cuddlers | Junebug | Voice (Pilot) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Grand Theft Auto V | Herself | DJ on in-game radio station 'The Lowdown 91.1' |
| 2017 | Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare | "Shaolin Shuffle" DLC |
| Year | Title | Artist | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | "Doggy Dogg World" | Snoop Dogg | Foxy Brown |
