Pam Grier just turned 76, but she was a 70s sex symbol, most famously known as Foxy Brown. Her role in Jackie Brown, the 1997 blaxploitation film featuring Samuel L. Jackson, cemented her as one of the baddest Baby Boomers to ever do it.
Megan Thee Stallion has referenced her by name in lyrics; Brent Faiyaz has too. Before that, the culture had already decided who Pam Grier was, whether she agreed or not.
Before Megan Thee Stallion and Brent Faiyaz name-dropped her in their songs, the culture had already decided who Pam Grier was, whether she agreed or not.
Two issues of Ebony magazine tell the story Pam wanted in writing. Luci Horton’s 1973 Ebony piece exposed what Hollywood was doing to Black women on screen and behind the scenes. Rivalries had developed between actresses, with some refusing to work together and rumors spreading. Competing actresses would accuse one another of being on dope, and even for that article, one actress declined to participate because Pam was being featured. The industry was competitive, cutthroat, and stingy with its spotlight.
By the time the June 1976 issue of Ebony came around, Foxy Brown, Sheba, and Coffy had grossed over $8 million combined — roughly $46.5 million in today’s dollars. Pam was a homeowner with a yellow Jaguar in the driveway, but she was growing tired of being reduced to sex scenes.
Pam Grier was developing a deep concern for Black society’s future. She felt that Black men didn’t respect Black women. Her roles became more action-packed, but she wasn’t interested in violence for shock value — she wanted to be the heroine. She was able to play those roles so well because it connected to something real, and it reminded her of life in her hometown. It resonated with the people, and she noticed that some of the men woke up when they saw their own lives reflected on the screen. She was making an impact.
The town she left gave her the inspiration for everything she would later build. On screen she fought back for herself and for something larger — her community.
Do you have to leave to succeed? Maybe the question isn’t whether you have to leave. Maybe the question is: what do you bring back?
But… she had to leave to be seen. Hollywood wasn’t coming to find her. The yellow Jag and the millions she made came after she showed up in rooms that the other actresses wanted to keep her out of.
What does it mean that the woman who became a symbol of Black feminine power had to go somewhere else to become herself?
