Pam Grier!
Grier moved to Los Angeles, California in 1967, where she was initially hired as a receptionist at the American International Pictures (AIP) company. She was discovered by director Jack Hill, who cast her in his women in prison films The Big Doll House (1971), and The Big Bird Cage (1972). While under contract at AIP, she became a staple of early 1970s blaxploitation movies, playing big, bold, assertive women, beginning with Jack Hill's Coffy (1973), in which she plays a nurse who seeks revenge on drug dealers; her character was advertised in the trailer as the "baddest one-chick hit-squad that ever hit town!" The film, which was filled with sexual and violent elements typical of the genre, was a box- office hit, and Grier was noted as the first African-American female to headline an action film, as protagonists of previous blaxploitation films were males. In his review of Coffy, film critic Roger Ebert noted that Grier was an actress of "beautiful face and astonishing form" and that she possessed a kind of "physical life" missing from other actresses.
Grier has never married and has no children. She dated basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar during the early 1970s, and had a 18-month affair with actor/comedian Richard Pryor around 1976–77. She also was romantically linked to actor/comedian Freddie Prinze in the 1970s.[7] 1998 she was engaged to music executive Kevin Evans, but the engagement ended in 1999. From 2000 to 2008 she dated marketing executive Peter Hempel. She received her Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in 2011 and received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Langston University 2011. She started the Pam Grier Community Garden and Education Center with the Multicultural Western Heritage Museum.
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Catherine Bach!
She heard about the audition for The Dukes of Hazzard through her husband.[5] When she arrived there, she found the producers were looking for a Dolly Parton-lookalike; despite not looking like what they were searching for, she was hired on the spot.[6] One of the earliest costume ideas from the producers was that she wear a tight white turtleneck, go-go boots and a poodle skirt, but Bach asked if she could bring her own outfit, which was a homemade T-shirt, a pair of cut-off denim shorts and high heels.[7] Bach had concerns about the appropriateness of the cut-off shorts at first, saying she couldn't wear them in a restaurant scene. When prompted by the producers to visit a restaurant across the street, Bach found the waitresses were wearing "little miniskirts that matched the tablecloths!".[5]
At the suggestion of the show's producers, Bach posed as Daisy Duke for a poster, which sold 5 million copies.[8] The poster once caused a stir when Bach visited the White House to visit one of her former schoolteachers who was then working there.[9]
In 1985, she served as the model for the figurehead for the schooner Californian.[10]
At one time[when?] her legs were insured for $1,000,000.[11]
In 2002, she launched a line of diamond jewellery at Debenhams.[12]
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Erin Gray!
Gray was put on a seven year contract at Universal Studios, which led directly to her taking the role of Colonel Wilma Deering in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, at first for a theatrically released movie, then for a recurring TV series.[7] Gray's trim, shapely figure, augmented by a tight one piece jumpsuit uniform, was popular with the show's predominantly young male audience. Gray commented that she was aware of the sexiness of her uniform which was so tight that she had to be sewn into it. Her character was also high profile within the show, second only to Gil Gerard in the lead role, thus representing one of the early examples of a strong female character in a science fiction setting. Because of this Gray was seen as an important role model for female viewers. She once told an interviewer:
I was the first female colonel. I enjoyed being that kind of role model for young women watching the show. A woman can be a colonel! A woman can be in charge! Those were new ideas then.[8]
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