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 ''Desperate Living'' is a 1977 American comedy film directed, produced, and written by John Waters. The film stars Liz Renay, Mink Stole, Edith Massey, Susan Lowe, Mary Vivian Pearce, and Jean Hill. It is the third installment of what Waters h ...

''. Hill is considered a

Dreamlander Dreamlanders are the cast and crew of regulars whom John Waters has used in his films. The term comes from the name of Waters' production company, Dreamland Productions. Many of the original Dreamlanders were friends of Waters from his native Bal ...

(

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his Cinema of Transgression, transgressive cult films, including ''Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), ''Pink Flamin ...

' regular ensemble of cast members).

Biography

Jean Hill was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, the daughter of a city sanitation supervisor and a nurse and raised on Druid Hill Avenue in the city's

Druid Heights Druid Heights was a bohemian community in Marin County, California, USA, founded in 1954 by poet Elsa Gidlow, her partner Isabel Quallo, and carpenter Roger Somers. The community was a popular retreat for various countercultural movements and ...

neighborhood. She was a 1965 graduate of Frederick Douglass High School. Following high school, she earned an associate degree from

Baltimore City Community College Baltimore City Community College (BCCC) is a public community college in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the only community college in the city and the only state-sponsored community college in the state. It is accredited by the Middle States Commiss ...

and earned a bachelor's degree in special education from what is now

Coppin State University Coppin State University (Coppin) is a public historically black university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland and a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. In terms of demographics, the Coppin State stu ...

. Hill tutored special education students at School 181 in Baltimore.Frederick N. Rasmussen. ''The Baltimore Sun: Obituaries.''
26 August 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2015 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".''Queerty: Jean Hill, Greeting Card Model And Star Of John Waters Films, Dies.''
23 August 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2015. In the mid-1980s Hill joined fellow Dreamlander Edith Massey in becoming a greeting card model, making her an icon of the

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

community. She was a longtime supporter of

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 33 ...

and

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

. She was also active in local theater and performed at the Arena Players, where she directed and designed costumes.

Death

Jean Hill died on August 21, 2013, in Baltimore, Maryland from

renal failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

at the age of 66.

Filmography

References

External links

* 1946 births 2013 deaths 21st-century American women American film actresses American women educators Coppin State University alumni Female models from Maryland Schoolteachers from Maryland {{US-film-actor-1940s-stub