Grier, Pamela Suzette
1949- · Contribution: 1971-1997
Actress
First African American woman to headline an action film; defined the female-led Blaxploitation genre with starring roles in 'Coffy' and 'Foxy Brown'; survived a stage-four cancer diagnosis given an 18-month prognosis
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Quick facts
- Born
- 1949
- Active since
- 1971
- Category
- Arts, Music & Entertainment Tech
- Best known for
- "Coffy" & "Foxy Brown"First Black woman to headline an action filmBlaxploitation icon
Impact on the world
Grier created the template for the powerful Black action heroine, a rare image of a woman as the star and center of the fight. Her characters became cultural touchstones.
An alternative history
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Sources
- Book or scholarly workFind
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1932-2021
Wrote, directed, produced, edited, scored, and starred in 1971's 'Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song,' the independently financed film that launched the Blaxploitation genre and was, at the time, the highest-grossing independent film ever made
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