Pam Grier Set for Career Tribute at Toronto Black Film Festival
Pam Grier, the pioneering action hero who starred in such Blaxploitation classics as Roger Corman’s The Big Doll House, The Big Bird Cage and Friday Foster, is set to receive a career achievement award at the upcoming Toronto Black Film Festival.
Grier, who went on to star for Quentin Tarantino as the title character in Jackie Brown in 1994, will be feted at the TBFF’s upcoming 12th edition on Feb. 15 in Toronto. In the 1970s, she starred in films such as Coffy and Foxy Brown, portraying a female vigilante looking for revenge in a world of vice and crime.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Her notable roles paved a path for Black actresses over the decades to follow her lead and boost representation on screen as Grier became known as a pioneering female action hero. “The award recognizes Grier’s enduring contributions, not only as a captivating actor but also as a trailblazer who has shattered barriers for women and African American performers in the industry, and helped to revolutionize cinema,” the Toronto festival said in a statement.
Grier recently starred in the Tubi thriller Cinnamon from Village Roadshow Pictures. Grier plays Mama, a hearing-impaired drug cartel matriarch on the hunt to trap a desperate young couple after a robbery goes wrong. They have unknowingly gotten entangled in Mama’s crosshairs and there’s nothing that Mama wants more than sweet revenge.
Grier also starred in the series Bless This Mess for ABC, which also has Dax Shepard and Lake Bell in the cast. The Toronto Black Film Festival is set to run from Feb. 14 to 19 in Toronto.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter