Pam Grier's role as the owner of a hardware store in rural Nebraska in the ABC sitcom "Bless This Mess" isn't a complete departure for the film legend: She lives in rural Colorado and has spent much of her life on ranches to find serenity from Hollywood life.
"I commuted to work really for 50 years because I couldn't have that lifestyle that I wanted of horses and ruralness. It would always be the city, hotels, room service," said Grier in a recent interview.
"My grandfather was the first feminist in my life, from Wyoming, who taught all of us girls how to hunt, fish and shoot, so I could bring that to this show, every element and it just kind of fit," Grier said. "He had this glow this piece and this unbelievable calm about him during the day after working sun up, sundown doing some labor. And he just was so spiritual and enjoyed life and he would always say you know if you wake up breathing you're going to have a good day. And so that's been my mantra since I was a little girl."
This May 21, 2019 photo shows actress Pam Grier posing in New York to promote her ABC sitcom “Bless This Mess.” (Photo by Christopher SmithInvisionAP)
She credits that mantra for helping her thrive in her 70th year in a life filled with plenty of highs and lows. Grier made her name as the queen of Blaxploitation films in the 1970s with roles in classics like "Coffy" and "Foxy Brown," but struggled in Hollywood after the genre fell out fashion. She also had tumultuous romances with the likes of Richard Pryor and Freddie Prinze.
The second season of "Bless This Mess' launches in September.
Grier also was the victim of two sexual assaults — one when she was just 6 years old. She opened up about her personal struggles in her 2010 memoir, "Foxy: My Life in Three Acts," and while promoting the book, learned a lot about the wide range of people who have been victims of sexual assault, including men: "I was surprised at the book signings how many men came up and just let me know that they feel better by me talking."
This May 21, 2019 photo shows actress Pam Grier posing in New York to promote her ABC sitcom “Bless This Mess.” (Photo by Christopher SmithInvisionAP)
Grier said she's gratified that many more of her fellow actresses are talking about their experiences with abuse in Hollywood in the era of #MeToo and Time's Up. She marvels in the impact the movement has had in a relatively short period of time.
"I always say it's about time. It takes confidence. It takes other people around you to set an example that you won't inflame or flame out you - you'll be OK. And it is tough to talk about it," she said." A lot of people haven't healed yet."
Grier has also successfully battled cancer. While she's still a glamour queen and sex symbol, her experience with the disease has made her eschew at least one of society's beauty norms.
"I'm so proud of my hair growing back on my legs after cancer that I don't shave. I don't shave my legs. I enjoy looking at you know two and half inches of hair and my legs," she said. "I'm very grateful to have a healthy balance. ... Oh, and I don't feel any different than I did when I was 21!"
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Madison Chock and Evan Bates danced their way to a record-setting seventh U.S. Figure Skating title on Saturday night, showcasing their trademark creativity, athleticism and precision in their final competition before the Milan Cortina Olympics.
The three-time reigning world champions, performing a flamenco-style dance to a version of the Rolling Stones hit “Paint It Black” from the dystopian sci-fi Western show “Westworld,” produced a season-best free skate and finished with 228.87 points.
Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik were second with 213.65 points and Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko were third with 206.95, making those two pairs the likely choices to join Chock and Bates on the American squad for the upcoming Winter Games.
U.S. Figure Skating will announce its selections on Sunday.
“The feeling that we got from the audience today was unlike anything I've ever felt before,” said Chock, who along with Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Olympics four years ago, but finished a disappointing fourth in the ice dance.
They'll be the heavy favorites to win gold next month in Italy.
“I felt so much love and joy,” Chock continued, "and I'm so grateful for this moment.”
The men's medals also were to be decided on Saturday, though two-time world champion Ilia Malinin had built such a lead after his short program that the self-styled “Quad God” would have to stumble mightily to miss out on a fourth consecutive title.
The real question is who will join Malinin on the Olympic team.
The U.S. also has qualified the maximum of three men's spots for the Winter Games, and competition is tight between second-place Tomoko Hiwatashi, fan favorite Jason Brown, Andrew Torgashev and Maxim Naumov to round out the nationals podium.
There wasn't much drama in the dance competition.
At least for the top step.
Yet sometimes the winning programs aren’t necessarily the ones that win over the crowd. And while they only finished fifth, the sister-brother duo of Oona Brown and Gage Brown — former world junior champions — earned the first standing ovation of the night for their moody, creative program set to selections from the film “The Godfather.”
“I think that was one of the best — if not the best — performances we've had,” Gage Brown said afterward.
The Browns ended a stretch in which most of the couples taking the ice made some kind of significant mistake.
Then it was a parade of near-perfect programs, each couple trying to upstage the previous one.
Emily Bratti and Ian Somerville were the first to knock the Brown siblings from first place, then reigning bronze medalists Caroline Green and Michael Parsons took over first place with their program, set to “Escalate” by Tsar B and “Son of Nyx” by Hozier.
Carreira and Ponomarenko, the back-to-back U.S. silver medalists, knew that a podium spot would probably earn them a spot on the Olympic team. And they delivered with a sharp program inside the Enterprise Center in which the seemed to channel the characters from the 2006 psychological thriller film “Perfume: The Story of a Murder.”
The 23-year-old Zingas and 24-year-old Kolesnik quickly assumed the top spot, but with Chock and Bates warming up on the ice as their scores were read, they knew it would probably be about a 4-minute stay in first place.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko skate during the free dance competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik skate during the free dance competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik react to their scores after the free dance competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik skate during the free dance competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the free dance competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
