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Pam Grier Bio
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Pam Grier
No one would ever guess that the vibrant butt-kicking actress of 1970s Blaxploitation films, Pamela Suzette Grier, once almost died from a tropical disease she caught while filming one of the famous films targeted at urban African-Americans that featured exaggerated sexuality, violence, and stereotypes.
But that’s what happened in 1972 when she was filming Black Mama, White Mama in the Philippines. She became so sick that it took her almost a year to recover.
In the movie, directed by Eddie Romero, Pam played black prostitute, Lee Daniels, doing time in an island camp for women in the Philippines. The guards, most of whom where lesbians, punished inmates who fought by cuffing them together. Pam’s character ended up being cuffed to bitter rival and white revolutionary Karen Brent (portrayed by Margaret Markov). The plot goes on the follow the adventures of the two as they disguised themselves as nuns and escaped into the jungle.
Other Blaxpoitation movies Pam starred in include The Big Bird Cage (1972), The Big Doll House (1971), Coffy (1973), Foxy Brown (1974), Friday Foster (1975), and Sheba Baby (1975).
Before landing starring roles in Blaxpoitation films, Pam worked in several low-paying jobs to support herself. The star, who was born on May 26, 1949 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was attracted to acting shortly after she became the second runner-up in the Miss Universe Pageant while studying pre-med at Metropolitan State College.
She went on to enter other beauty pageants where she met talent agent David Baumgarten who encouraged her to go to Hollywood and fill the need movie creators had for Black actresses.
Pam made her big break into the acting scene when she was discovered by director Roger Corman who cast her in The Big Doll House, a movie where she also sang the theme song.
Pam’s acting career was less public during the 1980s. She played roles in small films, television shows, and theater productions. A few of her larger character roles during the 1980s included a stoned prostitute in Fort Apache the Bronx (1981), a witch in Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983), a regular guest star on Miami Vice in 1985, and Steven Seagal’s detective partner in Above the Law (1988).
The same year (1988) Pam was diagnosed with cancer and was given 18 months to live. She stopped acting and fought the disease to the point of remission. In the 1990s she began acting again.
In 1996 she starred in Original Gangstas with other ex-Blaxploitation actors Richard Roundtree and Ron O'Neal. The same year she appeared as Louise Williams in Mars Attacks! with Danny DeVito, Jack Nicholson, and Pierce Brosnan. The following year, in 1997, she appeared in Jackie Brown.
In 2004 Pam starred in the television drama The L Word about the lives of a group of lesbians and bisexuals.
Pam, who spent her childhood traveling with her family all around Europe on American Military bases, has been romantically connected to several well-known figures. In the early 1970s she dated basketball player Kareem Abdul Jabbar and actor/comedian Freddie Prinze. By 1977 she had moved on to actor/comedian Richard Pryor. In 1998 she was briefly engaged to music executive Kevin Evans. The two split up in 1999. |
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