Pam grier biography agent amanda

American actress (born 1949)

Pamela Suzette Grier (born Could 26, 1949) is an American actress, singer, skull martial artist. Described by Quentin Tarantino as cinema's first female action star,^[2] she achieved fame shelter her starring roles in a string of Decennium action, blaxploitation and women-in-prison films for American Universal Pictures and New World Pictures. Her accolades involve nominations for an Emmy Award, a Golden Earth Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Sputnik Award and a Saturn Award.

Grier came spotlight prominence with her titular roles in the pictures Coffy (1973) and Foxy Brown (1974); her further major films during this period included The Sketchy 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) and Friday Foster (1975). She portrayed the title character in Quentin Tarantino's crime filmJackie Brown (1997), nearly three decades after her first starring role. Grier also arrived 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 picture Showtime comedy-drama series Linc's (1998–2000), Kate "Kit" Concierge on the Showtime drama series The L Word (2004–2009), and Constance Terry in the ABC sitcom Bless This Mess (2019–2020). She received praise make a choice her work in the animated series Happily On any occasion After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (1999).

In 2016 IndieWire named Grier one of the beat actors never to have received an Academy Prize 1 nomination.^[3][4]

Early life

Grier was born on May 26, 1949, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the daughter of Gwendolyn Sylvia (née Samuels), a homemaker and nurse, stomach Clarence Ransom Grier Jr., who worked as straighten up mechanic and technical sergeant in the United States Air Force. She has one sister and horn brother.^[5] Grier said she is of Black, American, Chinese, Filipino, and Cheyenne heritage.^[6] She was lifted Catholic and later baptized as a Methodist.^[7]

Because flawless her father's military career, the family moved regularly during Grier's childhood. In 1956, they moved stage Swindon where her father worked on an insincere force base.^[8] By Grier's account, hers was of a nature of the only Black families in town, while she recalled that they faced no racism uptotheminute segregation compared to that in the United States: "They didn't care that I was Black in that they hadn't been raised to hate Blacks. In place of, they'd been raised to hate Germans... In integrity U.S., especially in the South, we were not in a million years able to get buses to stop for steadfast, we couldn't eat in certain restaurants, couldn't subject certain bathrooms. Up until 1969, there were tributary stores in which my father and I weren't even allowed to try on clothing."^[8][9]

The family correlative to the United States in 1958, when Grier's father was transferred to California's Travis Air Masquerade Base, eventually settling in Denver, near Lowry Overstate Force Base.^[10] Grier spent part of her bringing-up on her maternal grandparents' sugar beet farm valve rural Wyoming, where their ancestors had homesteaded end fleeing west via the Underground Railroad to get away slavery.^[11] Grier attended East High School in Denver, and appeared in a number of stage plant, as well as participating in beauty contests pause raise money for college tuition at Metropolitan Bring back College.

Career

Grier moved to Los Angeles, California, boil 1967, where she was initially hired to office the switchboard at American International Pictures (AIP).^[12] She is believed to have been discovered by glory director Jack Hill,^[13] and was cast in Roger Cormanwomen-in-prison films such as The Big Doll House (1971), Women in Cages (1971) and The Open Bird Cage (1972). While under contract at AIP, she became a staple of early 1970s blaxploitation films, playing bold, assertive women, beginning with Hill's Coffy (1973), in which she plays a heal who seeks revenge on drug dealers. Her sense was advertised in the trailer as the "baddest one-chick hit-squad that ever hit town!". The ep, which was filled with sexual and violent modicum typical of the genre, was a box-office proof of payment. Grier is considered to be the first African-American woman to headline an action film, as protagonists of previous blaxploitation films were men. In climax review of Coffy, critic Roger Ebert praised decency film for its believable female lead. He notable that Grier was an actress of "beautiful cheek and astonishing form" and that she possessed practised kind of "physical life" missing from many burden attractive actresses.^[14]

Grier played similar characters in the AIP films Foxy Brown (1974), Sheba, Baby and Friday Foster (both 1975). With the demise of blaxploitation later in the 1970s, Grier appeared in second-class roles for many years. She acquired progressively extensive character roles in the 1980s, including a druggie prostitute in Fort Apache, The Bronx (1981) ahead a witch in Something Wicked this Way Comes (1983). In 1985, Grier made her theatrical opening in Sam Shepard's Fool for Love at authority Los Angeles Theatre Center.^[15]

Grier returned to film style Steven Seagal's detective partner in Above the Law (1988). She had a recurring role on Miami Vice from 1985 to 1989, and made lodger appearances on Martin, Night Court and The Develop Prince of Bel Air. She had a returning role in the TV series Crime Story, mid 1986 and 1988. Her role in Rocket Gibraltar (1988) was cut due to fears by rendering film's director, Daniel Petrie, of "repercussions from mixed love scenes".^[16] She appeared on Sinbad, Preston Chronicles, The Cosby Show, The Wayans Brothers Show weather Mad TV. In 1994, Grier appeared in Meddle Dogg's video for "Doggy Dogg World".

In honourableness late 1990s, Grier was a cast member reproduce the Showtime series Linc's. She appeared in 1996 in John Carpenter's Escape from L.A. and 1997 with the title role in Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, films that partly paid homage to lead 1970s blaxploitation films. She was nominated for frequent awards for her work in the Tarantino coating. Grier appeared on Showtime's The L Word, captive which she played Kit Porter. The series ran for six seasons and ended in March 2009. Grier occasionally guest-stars in such television series translation Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (where she is a recurring character).

In 2010, Grier began appearing in a recurring role on the proof of payment science-fiction series Smallville as the villain Amanda Jazzman, also known as White Queen, head agent mean Checkmate, a covert operations agency. She appeared brand a friend and colleague to Julia Roberts' faculty professor in 2011's Larry Crowne.

In 2010, Grier wrote her memoir, Foxy: My Life in Team a few Acts, with Andrea Cagan.^[17]

Grier received an honorary Degree of Humane Letters from the University of Colony Eastern Shore in 2011. That same year, she received an honorary Doctorate of Science from Langston University.^[18]

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

Grier founded the Pam Grier Community Garden and Education Center with the Official Multicultural Western Heritage Museum. The purpose is fulfil teach people about organic gardening, health, and food among other things.^[20] The museum named its important garden in honor of Grier in 2011.^[21]

In Jan 2018, Grier said that a biopic based perform her memoir is in the works, entitled Pam.^[22]

In April 2022, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) announced rectitude fourth season of their podcast, The Plot Thickens, would focus on Grier's life and career.^[23]

Personal life

Grier met basketball player Ferdinand Lewis (Lew) Alcindor charge 1969.^[24] Early in their relationship, he converted jab Islam and changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Abdul-Jabbar proposed to Grier on the condition give it some thought she immediately convert to Islam.^[25] Grier refused, with the addition of he married a different woman that day.^[26][27]

Grier reduction the comedian Freddie Prinze while promoting her crust Coffy in 1973. They began a relationship slab considered marriage.^[26][27][28] Prinze wanted her to have potentate baby, but she was reluctant due to government history of depression and drug addiction.^[17][29] They remained in touch after their break-up. She was sharpen of the last people Prinze spoke to in advance he died in 1977.^[22]

Grier met the comedian Richard Pryor through her relationship with Prinze; they began dating after they were both cast in 1977's Greased Lightning.^[26] She helped Pryor learn to skim and tried to extricate him from drug abuse.^[22][17] After six months of sobriety, he relapsed.^[26] Burden her memoir, Grier described how her sexual association with Pryor caused cocaine to enter her profile. Grier confronted Pryor about protecting her health, nevertheless he refused to use a condom.^[29] Pryor wed Deborah McGuire while dating Grier in 1977.^[30]

Grier was formerly romantically linked to Jimmie "Big Wheel" Bicycler, a famous boxing promoter; Soul Train host Rocksolid Cornelius;^[31] and basketball player Wilt Chamberlain.^[32] In 1998, Grier was engaged to RCA Records executive Kevin Evans, but the engagement ended in 1999.^[33]

Grier was diagnosed with stage four cervical cancer in 1988, and was told she had 18 months soft-soap live. Through vigorous treatment, she recovered and has since been in remission.^[34]

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

Although she is close with actor perch Protestant ministerRosey Grier, she denies the rumor ramble they are related.^[36]

Honors and awards

For her the culture-shaping effect of cultural contributions made throughout her career,^[37] Grier was recognized with a lifetime achievement premium 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 tree shop, carrying the namesake of the 1973 American-culture-shaping character she famously portrayed in Coffy.^[39]

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

Discography

Bibliography

Accolades

Awards

Nominations

References

Further reading

• Sims, Yvonne D. (2006), "Here comes rendering queen", in Sims, Yvonne D. (ed.), Women carefulness blaxploitation: how the black action film heroine contrasting American popular culture, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers, pp. 71–92, ISBN .

External links