8) Pam Grier
It was Quentin Tarantino’s love of blaxploitation cinema that saved Pam Grier.
In the 1970s, Grier was the queen of blaxploitation movies, taking the lead in films including Coffy, Foxy Brown and Sheba, Baby. Roger Ebert called her an actress of “astonishing form,” with a “physical life” lacking in other actresses. After the 70s ended, however, so did Grier’s career as a leading woman.
Until Jackie Brown, that is. In 1997 Quentin Tarantino cast Grier as the title character in his black-comedy crime drama, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress. After this Grier’s career was somewhat revived (though she’s had more substantial work on TV), but her very best role remains that which Tarantino gave her.