Gloria Hendry (born March 3, 1949) is an American actress and former model. Hendry is best known for her roles in films from the 1970s, most notably: portraying Rosie Carver in 1973's

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

film '' Live and Let Die''; and Helen Bradley in the

blaxploitation In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, ...

film '' Black Caesar'', and the sequel, ''

Hell Up in Harlem ''Hell Up in Harlem'' is a 1973 blaxploitation American neo-noir film, starring Fred Williamson and Gloria Hendry. Written and directed by Larry Cohen, it is a sequel to the film '' Black Caesar''. The film's soundtrack was recorded by Edwin S ...

''.

Biography

Early life and education

Born in

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

or Winter Haven, Florida (sources differ), Hendry was the older of two daughters. Hendry's family, which consisted of her mother and sister relocated to

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

to live with her grandparents during her early childhood. Hendry studied at Essex College of Business for Law.Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television, By Bob McCann
Retrieved March 15, 2020.

Career

Hendry worked as a

Playboy Bunny A Playboy Bunny is a cocktail waitress who works at a Playboy Club and selected through standardized training. Their costumes were made up of lingerie, inspired by the tuxedo-wearing Playboy rabbit mascot. This costume consisted of a straples ...

at the New York

Playboy Club The Playboy Club was initially a chain of nightclubs and resorts owned and operated by Playboy Enterprises. The first Playboy Club opened in Chicago in 1960. Each club generally featured a Living Room, a Playmate Bar, a Dining Room, and a Club ...

from 1965 until 1972. In 1968, Hendry received her first acting role in

Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. Among his ot ...

's film ''

For Love of Ivy ''For Love of Ivy'' is a 1968 American romantic comedy film directed by Daniel Mann. The film stars Sidney Poitier, Abbey Lincoln, Beau Bridges, Nan Martin, Lauri Peters, and Carroll O'Connor. The story was written by Poitier with screenw ...

'', followed by a small role in the 1970 film ''

The Landlord ''The Landlord'' is a 1970 American comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby, adapted by Bill Gunn from the 1966 novel by Kristin Hunter. The film stars Beau Bridges in the lead role of a privileged and ignorant white man who selfishly becom ...

''. In 1973, Hendry portrayed the

Bond Girl A Bond girl is a character who is a love interest, female companion or (occasionally) an adversary of James Bond in a novel, film, or video game. Bond girls occasionally have names that are double entendres or sexual puns, such as Plenty O' ...

Rosie Carver in the

film '' Live and Let Die''. In that film, she became the first African American woman to become romantically involved with 007;

Trina Parks Trina Parks (born Trina Frazier; December 26, 1946) is an American actress, vocalist, choreographer, principal dancer and dance instructor. Parks is best known for portraying Thumper in the 1971 James Bond film '' Diamonds Are Forever''. Movies ...

, who played a nemesis to Bond rather than a love interest in '' Diamonds Are Forever'' (the previous Bond film) is considered to be the first Black Bond girl. Hendry later starred in several 1970s

films, including ''

Across 110th Street ''Across 110th Street'' is a 1972 American neo noir action thriller film directed by Barry Shear and starring Yaphet Kotto, Anthony Quinn, Anthony Franciosa and Paul Benjamin. The film is set in Harlem, New York and takes its name from 11 ...

'' (1972), '' Slaughter's Big Rip-Off'' (1973), and both the 1973 films '' Black Caesar'' and its sequel ''

''. She also portrayed the

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

expert, Sydney, in '' Black Belt Jones'' (1974), and appeared in '' Savage Sisters'' (1974) and ''

Bare Knuckles ''Bare Knuckles'' is a 1977 blaxploitation film, starring Robert Viharo, Sherry Jackson and Gloria Hendry. The film was written and directed by Don Edmonds. Plot L.A. bounty hunter, Zachary Kane, is on the hunt for a masked serial killer on t ...

'' (1977). Her later films included the horror film '' Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings'' (1994) and the action comedy '' Freaky Deaky'' (2012).

Filmography

Film

References

Sources

External links

*
The Gloria Hendry Interview
(about ''Live and Let Die'')

(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hendry, Gloria 1949 births 20th-century African-American actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century African-American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Florida Actresses from Newark, New Jersey American film actresses Living people People from Winter Haven, Florida