She enrolled at San Francisco State University to study pre-law and acted with the racially conscious Black theater group Aldridge Players West. She eventually dropped out of college and went abroad to seek acting work.[5]
The 1977 film, Brothers, in which Mcgee played a character similar to Angela Davis, was pulled from the box office because of the fear of riots. That same year she noted in an interview with Ebony Magazine the decrease in black-led films over the last 2 years.[4]
She appeared in an episode of the TV series Starsky & Hutch named "Black and Blue" in 1979. She appeared as Marlene, the high-energy lot manager, in the 1984 cult classic Repo Man.
Vonetta McGee always discussed the racism that existed within the industry. When singer Diana Ross landed lead roles and was hailed as proof of equal opportunity Hollywood, McGee argued otherwise. "She has had the luxury of a studio behind her,'' McGee said. ''This is where a lot of us fell short. We all needed a certain amount of protection. But we were on our own.''[2]
McGee disliked the term Blaxploitation. She told the LA Times the label was "like racism, so you don't have to think of the individual elements, just the whole." Instead, McGee preferred the "Black-film genre." "Black film," she once said, "is the most valuable art form in pictures since Andy Warhol and Campbell Soup cans, because of the impact it made on the Black community."[5]
She wanted to focus on writing and filmmaking but she was facing an ongoing battle with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and took a break to focus on her health in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The 1984 film, Repo Man marked her return to the screen.[4]
McGee was diagnosed with cancer in 2001, and Lumbly became her primary caregiver.[4] McGee died of cardiac arrest on July 9, 2010, at the age of 65.[2][3]
