A classic Pam Grier movie poster: the afro, the long legs, the hard body both sexy and strong. And the “you’ll be sorry if you mess with me” look on her face.
Grier’s acting career dates back to the 1970’s. She originally was cast in a series of “women-in-prison” films like The Big Doll House, Women in Cages and The Big Bird Cage. She would soon become the face of a genre of 1970’s films known as blaxploitation movies. Among the most popular of these was Coffy and Foxy Brown.
“Long before Angelina Jolie or Lupita Nyong’o were some of Hollywood’s go-to female action stars, Pam Grier was doing her own stunts, chasing bad guys and seeking vigilante justice in low-budget ’70s action movies. Known as blaxploitation films, these movies were sensational, a little campy, and they featured a lot of violence and nudity.
“Grier says the term blaxploitation ‘was basically like a conspiracy’ to keep her films out of theaters. ‘All the movies started being like mine because we were staying in the theaters too long,’ she says. ‘Coffy knocked James Bond out of first place [at the box office].’” (Vivian Rashotte, CBC Arts, Feb 26, 2024)
“You know, I had to bump heads with a lot of men in the industry,” Grier says. “They were not comfortable with showing a progressive black female in an action role. As a strong woman, I was seen as a threat. There was a fear that women would mimic me in real life. I remember certain people saying: ‘Oh, she’s taking our jobs, she’s castrating men’ – as far as I was concerned, I thought: ‘We don’t need to walk behind you, we should walk beside you.’” (Texas Metro News, Oct. 20, 2023)
The entertainment/celebrity/gossip press never grew tired of telling stories about Grier’s romantic trysts and encounters with other celebrities. At one time she was dating Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. She claims he proposed to her but it was contingent on her becoming a Muslim something, she refused to do.
There was this hilarious incident with Richard Pryor, who she was also dating at one time:
“Grier…recalled her former beau, comedian Richard Pryor thinking she was hilarious because she drove his injured horse to a hospital in the backseat of her Jaguar. During the frantic drive, Pryor was wearing a bathrobe and she was in tennis gear.
“I said, ‘I’m taking him to the vet.’ Richard didn’t have a truck or a horse trailer. So I put Ginger in my Jag. We’re going fast, sparks flying, hitting the hydraulics, my struts and shocks are gone. And white people on the side of us going, ‘Oh noooo! There’s two negroes in that car with a horse in the backseat.’” (Kirsten Fleming, New York Post, Dec. 22, 2022)
And Grier, in an interview with Andy Cohen on Bravo TV, tells the story of a dinner with John Lennon that turned into a brawl:
“She (Grier) reveals that she and John kept singing I Can’t Stand the Rain by Ann Peebles and they wouldn’t stop. Before she knew it, they were asked to quiet down by the Smothers Brothers’ manager during their performance, a brawl broke out and she hid underneath the table.”
And when Snoop Dog met Grier, he passed out.
“The pair first crossed paths on the set of their 2001 film Bones and the first impression Snoop left was a funny one. ‘I’m sitting down and Pam Grier walk up and she sit right next to me and start talking to me. My heart beating fast. So I’m like, OK. I hear what you saying, Pam. Give me a minute. I go to the bathroom and faint,’ the rapper revealed.
“I knew when it was happening. He was turning pale and he got up and he wobbled to the men’s room. I said, ‘Is he OK?’ He went in and fell down on the pissy floor and fainted,’ Grier revealed. ‘I was so upset that they cleaned him up and brought him back out and we sat together. I didn’t know I had that effect on him. He’s such a lovely person, I just couldn’t imagine him lying in urine,’ she continued.” (hotnewhiphop.com, April 18, 2024)
In so many of her movies, Grier’s characters seemed indestructible. In real life, she seems that way as well. In 1988, she was diagnosed with cancer and given 18 months to live. That was 36 years ago.
“Grier was in her late 30s, a self-described ‘health-nut,’ running six miles a day, not eating meat and ‘not abusing my body in any way.’ She’d gone for a routine cervical smear and got a call from her doctor who said they’d found abnormal cells in her test results. She was booked in for an operation to remove the abnormal tissue and told she’d be fine. But, afterwards, her pathologist called to say it wasn’t good news; the next day, her doctor sat her down to tell her she had 18 months to live.
“She credits a combination of eastern and western medicine for her recovery. Her doctor sent her to a Chinese herbalist after her diagnosis, where she was prescribed ‘herbs and tinctures. It also taught me to drink hot tea with my food to get rid of toxins.’” (Texas Metro News, October 20, 2023)
In a interview with AP (July 19, 2009) she said: `I’m so proud of my hair growing back on my legs after cancer that I don’t shave. … I’m very grateful to have a healthy balance.”
Grier’s star rose again in 1997 when she had the lead role in Quetin Tarrantino’s film Jackie Brown. That performance earned her a nomination for a Golden Globe for best actress.
Tarantino recently paid tribute to Grier in a unique way.
“Quentin Tarantino, a name synonymous with distinctive cinema, has ventured into the cafe business with the February launch of Pam’s Coffy, next to the Vista Theater in Los Feliz, Los Angeles. This isn’t just any coffee shop; it’s a tribute to Pam Grier, known for her badass lead role in the 1973 blaxploitation film ‘Coffy,’ and it’s brimming with retro vibes and custom-blend coffees. Originally meant to be a video rental store, Tarantino instead created a casual hangout for creative types in the former ice cream parlor, complete with Cap’n Crunch and swell merch.” (Rusty Blazenhoff, boingboing.net, April 19, 2024)
While so many of Grier’s movies were distinctly urban, that doesn’t reflect her preferred lifestyle. She moved from Los Angeles, where she built her career, to a ranch in rural Colorado.
“I commuted to work really hard for 50 years because I couldn’t have that lifestyle that I wanted of horses and ruralness. It would always be the city, hotels, room service,’ Grier said in a recent interview.
“My grandfather was the first feminist in my life, from Wyoming, who taught all of us girls how to hunt, fish and shoot, so I could bring that to this show, every element, and it just kind of fit.’”’ (AP 7/19/2019)
Whatever Happened to Pam Grier? She has continued to have a distinguished acting career to this day. In addition to her film work, she has appeared on numerous television shows, recently was a cast member of the Showtime series Bless This Mess, she was in a Sam Shepard play at the Los Angeles Theater Center and even did a music video with Snoop Dog. Just last year she was in two movies Cinnamon and Pet Sematary: Bloodlines.
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Whatever Happened To?
off the leash 
That story with Richard Pryor and the horse is hysterical! Glad to know she’s a cancer survivor; one more reason she’s badass.
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Thanks for an entertaining and informative read.
One additional note: According to International Movie Database, Pam Grier and Roosevelt Grier, the NFL linemen and actor, are cousins.
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Great article, Ken.
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