Pamela Suzette “Pam” Grier was born on 26th May 1949, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina USA, of Hispanic, Filipino, African-American, Cheyenne Indian, and Chinese descent. She is an actress who became famous back in the ‘70s, the role which made her known being Foxy Brown. She is a cultural icon, being also known as the Queen of Blaxploitation, and she was called cinema’s first female action star by director Quentin Tarantino.
So just how rich is Pam Grier? Sources estimate that Pam’s net worth is $15 million, most of her wealth having been made in the film and television industry, plus from sales and royalties during a career now spanning more than 45 years and involving over 60 different appearances.
Pam Grier Net Worth $15 Million
Pam Grier graduated from East High School in Denver. To raise money to pay her college tuition at Metropolitan State College, she participated in beauty contests and even placed third in the Colorado Miss Universe Beauty Pageant in 1967. During one of these contests, she was seen by agent Dave Baumgarten, who convinced her to move to Los Angeles to build an acting career. Her first job in LA was at the American International Pictures (AIP) company, where she was working as a receptionist. Here she managed to be cast in two films, “The Big Doll House” in 1971, and “The Big Bird Cage” in 1972.; she was making $500 a week for her performance in these films (about $3,000 today), the beginning of her growing net worth. She soon became an icon of the Blaxploitation movies, being also the first African-American female to headline an action film and to appear on the cover of MS. Magazine.
She continued to appear in numerous movies during the ‘70s, such as “Foxy Brown”, “Friday Foster”, “La Notte Dell’alta Marea”, “Black Mama White Mama”, and “Greased Lightning”. In 1979, Pam Grier made her first appearance in a television series, in an episode from “Roots: The Next Generations”, followed by roles in series including “The Love Boat”, “Night Court”, “Crime Story”, and “Miami Vice”. The actress was paid about $2,000 a week for her appearances in television series (almost $4,500 today), a steady if unspectacular addition to her net worth.
In the ‘80s, the actress had several important roles in mainstream blockbusters like “Fort Apache – The Bronx” and “Above the Law”. Again, modest contributions to her net worth ensued.
At the end of the ‘80s, Pam Grier fought cancer, which prevented her from accepting major roles, and she focussed more on small-stage performances. She went back to film acting in 1997 when Quentin Tarantino chose her for his movie “Jackie Brown”, a performance which brought Pam an NAACP Image Award and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. After 2000, Pam Grier had appearances in television series like “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”, “Smallville” and “The L Word”, the latter as Kit for six series between 2004-09. With an annual income of over $1 million, Pam Grier has done several low-budget movies for first-time directors in the last few years. Pam is still adding to her net worth.
Regarding acknowledgments for her acting, Pam Grier was included in Ebony Magazine’s top of “100 Most Fascinating Women of the 20th Century”. She was given the “Career Achievement Award” at the Annual Chicago International Film Festival in 2008 and, in 2013, she was inducted into the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum Hall of Fame. Her memoir, “Foxy: My Life in Three Acts”, was published in 2010.
The actress is also the co-founder of the company Melting Pot Designs, which designs paper products. In her personal life, Pam Grier has never been married and doesn’t have children. She was engaged to Kevin Evans between 1998 and 1999. She also had a long relationship with Peter Hempel from 2000 until 2008. Pam Grier owns a ranch in Colorado with an equestrian facility and a 3,000-square-foot main residence with three bedrooms.
