PAM GRIER

Pam Grier began her career appearing in many stage productions and participating in beauty contests to raise money for her education at Metropolitan State College. In 1967, she hired a moving company to relocate to Los Angeles, where she worked as a switchboard operator for American International Pictures. She was subsequently discovered by director Jack Hill, who cast her in The Big Doll House and its follow-up The Big Bird Cage.

At this time, Grier started to become a staple of these genres of movies, in which she portrayed bold, no-nonsense women. She was then hailed as the first African-American actress to headline an action film. Even renowned Quentin Tarantino described her as the movie industry’s first-ever female action star. Grier continues to hit the big and small screens, portraying Constance Terry in the 2019 ABC sitcom Bless This Mess.