| BIOGRAPHY
The reigning queen of the 1970s blaxploitation genre, Pam Grier
was born May 26, 1949, in Winston-Salem, NC. An Air Force mechanic's
daughter, she was raised on military bases in England and Germany.
During her teen years the family settled in Denver, CO, where
at the age of 18, Grier entered the Miss Colorado Universe pageant.
Named first runner-up, she attracted the attention of Hollywood
agent David Baumgarten, who signed her to a contract. After relocating
to Los Angeles, Grier struggled to mount an acting career, and
worked as a switchboard operator at the studios of Roger Corman's
American International Pictures. Finally, with Corman's aid, she
made her film debut in the 1970 Russ Meyer cult classic Beyond
the Valley of the Dolls, followed by an appearance in Jack Hill's
1971 cheapie The Big Doll House.
For several years, Grier languished virtually unnoticed in grindhouse
fare like 1971's Women in Cages and 1973's Arena (aka Naked Warriors)
before winning the title role in Hill's 1973 action outing Coffy.
Playing a nurse seeking vengeance against the drug dealers responsible
for her sister's descent into heroin addiction, Grier immediately
rose to the forefront of the so-called "blaxploitation"
genre, a group of action-adventure films aimed squarely at African-American
audiences. Portraying the 1974 superheroine Foxy Brown, she became
a major cult figure, as her character's fierce independence, no-nonsense
attitude, and empowered spirit made her a role model for blacks
and feminists alike. At the peak of her popularity, Grier even
appeared on the covers of Ms. and New York magazines. Her films'
often racy content also made her a sex symbol, and additionally
she posed nude for the men's magazine Players.
Successive action roles as gumshoe Sheba Shayne in 1975's Sheba,
Baby and as the titular reporter Friday Foster further elevated
Grier's visibility, but fearing continued typecasting she shifted
gears to star opposite Richard Pryor in the fact-based 1977 auto-racing
drama Greased Lightning. She did not reappear onscreen for four
years, resurfacing to acclaim in 1981 as a murderous prostitute
in Fort Apache, the Bronx; however, no other major roles were
forthcoming, and she spent much of the decade appearing on television
and in straight-to-cable features. A major role in the 1988 Steven
Seagal action hit Above the Law marked the beginning of a comeback,
and after appearing in 1993's Posse, Grier starred with fellow
blaxploitation vets Jim Brown, Richard Roundtree, and Fred "the
Hammer" Williamson in 1996's Original Gangstas, a throwback
to the films of the early '70s.
In 1997, the actress' career resurgence was complete with the
title role in Jackie Brown, written in her honor by director and
longtime fan Quentin Tarantino. Grier's tough, sexy portrayal
of a jaded flight attendant earned praise from critics far and
wide, as well as the promise of steady work. She could subsequently
be seen in films ranging from the indie comedy Jawbreaker (1999),
in which she had a supporting role as a detective, to Jane Campion's
Holy Smoke (1999), which cast her as the girlfriend and assistant
of deprogrammer Harvey Keitel, to Bones (2000), a horror film
that saw Grier playing the girlfriend of a murdered man (Snoop
Dogg) who comes back from the dead to wreak vengeance on his killers. |
FILMOGRAPHY
• Pam Grier: Uncaged (2004)
• Love the Hard Way (2003)
• The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
• Wilder (2002)
• 3 A.M. (2001)
• Bones (2001)
• The Feast of All Saints (2001)
• John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars (2001)
• Snow Day (2000)
• Fortress 2: Re-Entry (1999)
• Holy Smoke! (1999)
• In Too Deep (1999)
• Jawbreaker (1999)
• Pam Grier Collection (1999)
• Fakin' Da Funk (1998)
• No Tomorrow (1998)
• Woo (1998)
• Jackie Brown (1997)
• Strip Search (1997)
• Escape From L.A. (1996)
• Original Gangstas (1996)
• Serial Killer (1995)
• Posse (1993)
• Class of 1999 (1990)
• Above the Law (1988)
• On the Edge (1986)
• Stand Alone (1985)
• The Vindicator (1984)
• Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)
• Tough Enough (1982)
• Fort Apache, the Bronx (1981)
• Greased Lightning (1977)
• Drum (1976)
• Bucktown (1975)
• Friday Foster (1975)
• Twilight People (1975)
• Foxy Brown (1974)
• Sheba, Baby (1974)
• The Arena (1973)
• Black Caesar (1973)
• Coffy (1973)
• Scream, Blacula, Scream (1973)
• The Big Bird Cage (1972)
• Black Mama, White Mama (1972)
• Big Doll House (1971)
• Women in Cages (1971) |
