Pam Grier - Foxy: My Life in Three Acts

I have modified the identities and certain details about some of the individuals described in this book.

Copyright 2010 by Pam Grier

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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Second eBook Edition: July 2011

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ISBN: 978-0-446-56470-0

Surprise, surprise, surpriseshes not just the hot smoking chick who could deliver a karate chop Pam Grier, the 70s film beauty, reveals her true self in a memoir of her struggles, her loves, and the pain in her past the life of a woman struggling to make it on her own and doing so with grace and class.

Philadelphia Inquirer

A survivors saga a memoir about her four decades of acting, but its also about overcoming abuse and cancer.

Sunday Denver Post

This engaging memoir reveals her odds-defying journey from six-year-old rape victim with a post-traumatic stutter to iconic action hero. Also detailed are her triumph over cancer and her successful comeback in 1997s Jackie Brown, written for her by Quentin Tarantino.

People

Secrets of a sex symbol our first big-screen female action hero she details all in her rousing first book.

Essence

Blasts into the memoir genre Grier, a cancer survivor, frankly discusses falls and crawls surprisingly frank reads as if one is dishing over coffee with a girlfriend.

examiner.com

I could not put this book down whatever you think you want to know about Miss Pam Grier, it is right here in this book, her words, her truths you all make sure you go out and pick up this book.

MoNique, The MoNique Show

A cultural icon [she] exposes all in her memoir.

Philadelphia Daily News

Grier doesnt skimp on the particulars of her romances but FOXY is more interesting for [another] reason: to find out how an ordinary person ended up living an extraordinary life FOXY shows that when a character described Foxy Brown as a whole lot of woman, he didnt know the half of the story behind the woman who portrayed her.

Boulder Daily Camera

Guaranteed to surprise Strongly recommended.

Library Journal

Grier has lived a remarkable life, and she tells her story clearly and movingly.

Asbury Park Press

Wonderful stories I enjoyed the read.

Tavis Smiley, TAVIS SMILEY

The never-say-die actress/singer/icon opens up and lets the world into her life to witness her triumphs, failures, challenges, and loves, which include the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Freddie Prinze Sr., and Richard Pryor This saga of one of the worlds most beautiful womenand her overcoming every hurdle that gets in her waywill bring tears and cheers as she survives everything, even a bout with cancer.

PRLog.org

Iconic the original strong black female star Grier stands assured that her as-told-to autobiography will be welcomed by film-studies collections high and low.

Booklist

Brutally honest.

Kalamazoo Gazette

Grier tells all The thoughtful actress always comes out swinging [she] will go down as one of the toughest, meanest, foxiest badasses ever to grace the screen explores her unlikely rise from a rural Colorado girl to a feminist to a cancer survivor who has enjoyed a comeback on and off the screen.

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Covers her influential career and makes public, for the first time, the details of the sexual abuse and racial prejudice she suffered as a child.

AARP magazine

A terrific memoir shares some horrific experiences details her romantic experiences she is a survivor.

Southern California Public Radio

Honest I absolutely enjoyed it.

ApooBooks.com

Chronicles the good, bad, and steamy highlights in her life and career.

eventful.com

The previously private Grier finally lets loose and you see how truly fierce she is She is a trooper, a survivor, and by the end of the book, just like in those old movie posters, there she still stands, in the midst of chaos, calm, in control, and fabulousstill the baddest chick in town.

thegrio.com

A lively, engaging read expose[s] the more sensitive, accomplished woman many have watched but only a few really know.

The Root

A candid portrayal of life growing up in a different time period and the developments that have made her the strong woman she is today.

windycitymediagroup.com

Details her personal life as an actress involved with some of the most famous men of the era.

blackamericaweb.com

An intimate look inside her childhood, her upbringing, and the road she traveled to move up within the entertainment industry.

WomanTribune.com

An illuminating and poignant memoir.

zimbio.com

An alternately shocking, wistful, and steely portrait of her own mythology that is compulsively readable.

popmatters.com

For Gwen, my mother, and Gina, Rod, Gal, Bronson, Koleman, and Michael and my guardian angels who watch over me every day

I was snuggled in my mothers arms in the backseat of the old Buick. My dads Air Force buddy was at the wheel, driving us from Fort Dix Air Force Base to Colorado, where Dad was being transferred. Id been born into a military family, making my first move by car at three weeks old, since blacks were rarely seen on trains. And, of course, there was no way we could afford to fly, even if planes had been available.

I was born in Winston-Salem, where my dads family lived. My parents had expected their visit to North Carolina to last three to four days before they returned to Colorado, where Mom would give birth to me. But it seemed that between the intense heat, the long hours of relaxation, and the large mouthfuls of ripe, juicy watermelon she ingested, my mom went into early labor with me. She was uncomfortable having her baby in Winston-Salem. Shed wanted to be safe and sound in Colorado when I was born, with her own family around her. Apparently I had other plans.

Now Dad was in the passenger seat, riding shotgun, while his buddy drove the old 48 crank Buick with no seat belts, which no one had as yet. In the backseat, the drivers wife was carrying a goldfish in a bowl of water, and Mom was carrying me. As we rode along the New Jersey Turnpike, a car sped down the on-ramp, passed us, and suddenly shot out onto the road right in front of us. As Dads friend swerved to miss the car cutting us off, our Buick rolled over three times and came to a stop at the side of the turnpike, its wheels beneath it. We all got out. Mom had never let go of me, and everyone in the car walked away without a scratchexcept the goldfish, who died from oxygen inhalation.

That was my first stunt.