Bonnie Greer death: Playwright and novelist, dies aged 77 after brief illness

Bonnie Greer, acclaimed playwright and novelist, has died aged 77.

Her husband David Hutchins said: “It is with profound sadness that I announce that my beloved wife, Bonnie Greer, has died aged 77 after a brief illness.

“Bonnie was an acclaimed playwright, author, critic, cultural and political commentator whose intelligence, courage and distinctive voice made an enduring contribution to British cultural and public life.

Greer was born in Chicago and lived in New York City before moving to Britain in 1986

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“To me, she was my partner, confidante and inspiration, and I feel profoundly privileged to have shared my life with her.

“Those closest to Bonnie will remember her warmth, humour, generosity and extraordinary ability to bring people together.

“At this immensely difficult time, we ask that our family’s privacy be respected. She will be deeply missed.”

Greer was born in Chicago in 1948 and lived in New York City, where she studied theatre before attending the Actors Studio in New York with director Elia Kazan.

In 1986, she moved to Britain, and she became a citizen in 1997.

Bonnie Greer moved to the UK in 1986

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She served on the boards of art institutions including the British Museum, Royal Opera House and London Film School. She was also awarded the Verity Bargate Award for Best Play for Munda Negra.

Her novels included Hanging by Her Teeth (1994), which focused on Black American woman travelling through the US and Europe in search of her father, Entropy (2009), which is about a woman is trying to come to terms with her father's death.

Some of her other published works include a memoir titled A Parallel Life and a critical biography of the US poet and playwright Langston Hughes.

Her work - which spanned a range disciplines and platforms - often tackled topics based on race, culture and government.

She served on the boards of art institutions including the British Museum, Royal Opera House and London Film School.

Graham Jepson

In October 2009, her memoir and music history, Obama Music, which is about her and the former US president’s connections to Chicago’s South Side, was published.

Greer was also a regular face on UK TV, as she frequently appeared as a panellist on Newsnight Review and Question Time.

In 2010, she was made an OBE in 2010 for services to the arts, and she was appointed as a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2022.

Speaking to the Guardian in 2016 in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, Greer said: "When I wake up in the morning, I'm just myself.

"It's only when I leave the door that I become a black woman to the world. I tell black women all the time, 'Don't apologise for yourself and keep your hair nappy. Make sure you are heard'."