American model and actress (1946–2013)
Jean Elizabeth Hill (November 15, 1946 – August 21, 2013) was an American model and actress most notable for the role of Grizelda Brown in the 1977 film Desperate Living. Hill is considered a Dreamlander (John Waters' regular ensemble of cast members).[1]
Biography
Jean Hill was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the daughter of a city sanitation supervisor and a nurse and raised on Druid Hill Avenue in the city's Druid Heights neighborhood. She was a 1965 graduate of Frederick Douglass High School. Following high school, she earned an associate degree from Baltimore City Community College and earned a bachelor's degree in special education from what is now Coppin State University. Hill tutored special education students at School 181 in Baltimore.[2]
Known as John Waters' "discovery", he was seeking an overweight African-American woman to play in his 1977 film Desperate Living. Waters' doorman referred her to him. In Waters' book Shock Value, he describes her as "my dream-come-true, four hundred pounds of raw talent".[3]
In the mid-1980s Hill joined fellow Dreamlander Edith Massey in becoming a greeting card model, making her an icon of the gay community. She was a longtime supporter of LGBT rights and same-sex marriage. She was also active in local theater and performed at the Arena Players, where she directed and designed costumes.[2]
Death
Jean Hill died on August 21, 2013, in Baltimore, Maryland from renal failure at the age of 66.[4]
Filmography
References
External links
