Pam Grier To Be Honored at Toronto Black Film Festival

Pam Grier is set to receive her flowers at the upcoming Toronto Black Film Festival.

Pam Grier will receive her flowers at the upcoming Toronto Black Film Festival.

The veteran actress who became a household name in the 1970s starring in classic Blaxploitation such as Coffy and Foxy Brown will receive a career achievement award at the the 12th annual TBFF on Feb. 15.

“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.

One of her most memorable roles came in 1997. That’s when Grier garnered widespread acclaim for her starring role in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown. It’s just one highlight in a career that has spanned more than 50 years.

“She has blazed a trail for so many Black women in cinema and has left an indelible mark not only in the Blaxploitation genre but on the film industry,” Fabienne Colas, president and founder of the Toronto Black Film Festival, said. “Hailed as the Queen of Blaxploitation and the first female action hero, Pam Grier is a consummate screen actress who has helped to spark not one but multiple eras in American Black cinema. Her incendiary performances in iconic roles came at pivotal moments in the industry for both Black representation and representation of women on screen.”

The award comes 35 years after Grier was diagnosed with stage 4 cervical cancer and told she only had 18 months to live.

Through treatment she considered “a full-time job,” Grier’s cancer went into remission. She’s continued to thrive. “In 1988, the C-word meant: ‘Oh my God, you’re going to die. There is no hope. ‘You learn who your friends are when you have cancer,” she told The Guardian in 2011.

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