African American Actress & 1970s Icon Pam Grier
A Talented and Sexy Entertainer’s Uncommon Journey
Sep 20, 2009
Born on May 26, 1949 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Pamela Suzette Grier is the daughter of Gwendolyn Samuels and Clarence Grier. Her father worked on active duty in the United States Air Force. His job allowed the family to travel around the country. The Griers also traveled internationally to England and Germany in response to Pam’s father’s active duty military work orders.
Life for the Actress as a Military Dependent
Pam Grier’s cousin and former National Football League (NFL) standout, Rosey Grier, was already advancing his professional career when Pam’s family moved west to Denver, Colorado. While living in Colorado and before she started to work in the movie industry, Pam worked as a cheerleader for the Denver Broncos.
The job put her a step closer to performing in front of large national audiences. Her father being stationed in Colorado not only opened Pam up to the world of sports where she ran track in high school, the move also put her closer to Hollywood and the major motion picture industry. After she graduated from high school, Pam moved further west to Los Angeles.
Pam’s first job was not as an actress. In fact, while she attended college at Denver’s Metropolitan State College, Pam set her sights on working in medicine.
Pam Grier’s Early Movie Career
When she first arrived in Los Angeles, she worked as a receptionist for American International Pictures. Three years after she moved to Los Angeles, she appeared in her first movie, The Big Doll House.
Almost from her first appearance in a major motion picture, Pam Grier was revered, particularly African American men. She quickly became a member of Hollywood’s rising elite. Throughout the early 1970s, the period when Blaxploitation movies were popular, Pam landed leading film roles.
Despite her early roles in Blaxploitation films, Pam Grier has a broad range of talent. She has performed for television, major motion films and the live theatre. After nearly 40 years in the entertainment business, the actress continues to perform.
Overcoming Breast Cancer
In 1988 Pam Grier faced one of her life’s greatest challenges to date when she was told that she had breast cancer. She was initially given only 18 months to live. The experience was life changing. Pam’s sister would pass away from the disease two years later.
Pam turned to non-traditional medicine forms, particularly therapeutic forms from the East, to help heal her body. She combined the forms with traditional radiation and chemotherapy treatments and surgeries to overcome the challenge of breast cancer.
In addition to acting, Pam loves to sing and create music. Earlier in her career she sang with rhythm and blues legend, Bobby Womack. The actress is also a lover of horses.
Pam Grier’s Awards and Recognition
The talented Hollywood actress has been nominated for several National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) awards. Over the course of her career, she has also been nominated for a Golden Globe Award, a Black Reel Award and an Emmy Award.
Other major motion pictures that Pam Grier has starred in include Women in Cages, Black Mama, White Mama, Coffy, Foxy Brown, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Fort Apache the Bronx, Jackie Brown and Snow Day. She has also appeared on television programs such as “Law & Order,” “Ladies of the House,” “The Cosby Show,” “Miami Vice” and “The L Word.”
Sources:
Swindle Magazine. “Pam Grier” by Caroline Ryder. 6 September 2009.
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