Named beginning runner-up, she attracted the notice of Hollywood agent David Baumgarten, who signed her to a understanding. After relocating to Los An... geles, Grier struggled to mount an acting career, and worked as a switchboard bus at the studios of Roger Corman's American International Pictures. In fine, with Corman's comfort, she made her film premiere in the 1970 Russ Meyer cult superior Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, followed by an appearance in Jack Hill's 1971 cheapie The Big Doll Brothel. Suitable several years, Grier languished almost unremarked in grindhouse fare 1971's Women in Cages and 1973's Arena (aka Nude Warriors) before winning the title function in Hill's 1973 fray trip Coffy.

Playing a nurse seeking vengeance against the drug dealers responsible inasmuch as her sister's descent into heroin addiction, Grier immediately rose to the forefront of the so-called "blaxploitation" genre, a assortment of action-adventure films aimed squarely at African-American audiences. Portraying the 1974 superheroine Devious Brown, she became a worst cult figure, as her crackpot's fierce independence, no-tricks attitude, and empowered spirit made her a role exemplar looking for blacks and feminists alike. At the tiptop of her vogue, Grier precise appeared on the covers of Ms. and Untrained York magazines.

Her films' often zesty content also made her a sex badge, and additionally she posed unclothed instead of the men's magazine Players. Unbroken action roles as gumshoe Sheba Shayne in 1975's Sheba, Baby and as the titular reporter Friday Foster further elevated Grier's visibility, but fearing continued typecasting she shifted gears to unrivalled inconsistent Richard Pryor in the fact-based 1977 auto-racing screenplay Greased Lightning. She did not reappear onscreen with a view four years, resurfacing to acclaim in 1981 as a barbarous prostitute in Fort Apache, the Bronx; nevertheless, no other major roles were forthcoming, and she dead beat much of the decade appearing on tube and in rearrange-to-cable features. A significant role in the 1988 Steven Seagal enterprise dream up Above the Law patent the commencement of a comeback, and after appearing in 1993's Posse, Grier starred with fellow blaxploitation vets Jim Brown, Richard Roundtree, and Fred "the Hammer" Williamson in 1996's Original Gangstas, a throwback to the films of the early '70s.

In 1997, the actress' career resurgence was complete with the documentation of ownership role in Jackie Brown, written in her honor by director and longtime fan Quentin Tarantino. Grier's tough, sexy portrayal of a spent flight attendant earned praise from critics pissed and astray, as well as the promise of reliable work. She could subsequently be seen in films ranging from the indie comedy Jawbreaker (1999), in which she had a supporting role as a detective, to Jane Campion's Chaste Smoke (1999), which sling her as the girlfriend and assistant of deprogrammer Harvey Keitel, to Bones (2000), a horror film that commonplace Grier playing the girlfriend of a murdered curb (Nosy Parker Dogg) who comes recoil from from the exactly to wreak vengeance on his killers.