Pam Grier is the original female action hero She’s still ‘Foxy’

By JESSE J. HOLLAND

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Even at 68, Pam Grier looks like she can still kick butt.

And the looks don’t deceive, Grier said. While having never played a superhero, “I’m super in real life,” said Grier, smiling and flicking back some of her flowing hair.

Grier is still going strong in an almost 50-year film and television career. In an interview with The Associated Press last week, she discussed some of the changes in Hollywood and the return of the female action movie star. “I don’t know why people were surprised at the success of ‘Wonder Woman,”’ said Grier, star of gritty 1970s action movies like “Foxy Brown,” “Coffy,” “Black Mama/White Mama,” and others.

Women like Grier and Angie Dickinson paved the way for current female action stars like Gal Gadot and Charlize Theron, and a new wave of black female stars like Taraji P. Henson in her upcoming “Proud Mary” and Meagan Good, who is remaking Grier’s classic “Foxy Brown.”

“I applaud them, I want them to succeed,” Grier said. “I started it. I don’t want them to fail.”

But being an action star has its cost: Grier said she hurt herself numerous times doing stunts, including filming “Coffy.” “I almost broke my ankle,” she said. “They painted my cast to look like a boot, and I’m limping. And I was ‘Does this look good?’ It looks good.”

Luckily today’s actors have stunt doubles and better equipment, Grier said. When asked about the difference between doing action today and back during her day, she laughed and said: “Sports bras.”

Grier has nothing but good wishes for the remake of “Foxy Brown” and Good.

“It’s going to be interesting,” she said. “You see, I didn’t have a stuntwoman until ‘Foxy Brown.’ And Meagan, she’s going to do great with stunts. She’ll get the sports bra I didn’t have. And you ask me would I do it again? Yeah, if I had a great sports bra.”

Grier was in Washington, D.C., this past weekend to be honored at the annual “Salute Her: Beauty of Diversity Awards Luncheon.”

Grier is also promoting the Brown Sugar moving streaming service, which streams iconic black movies like Grier’s “Jackie Brown,” “Black Mama/White Mama” and others. For Grier, the service is a godsend because her elderly mother can watch some of her lesser-known movies at home that she missed while raising multiple children and making ends meet.