Tammy Hansen Grady (also known as ''Tammy Hanson'' or ''Tammy Grady'') is an American-born actress, recording artist, photographer and former
glamour model
A model is a person with a role either to display commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as an artist's model.
Modelling ("modeling" in American English) entails using one's body to represent someone els ...
.
She was born in Los Angeles, California on September 29, 1970. She has appeared in 16 music videos.
At present, she is a DP, camera operator and enjoys making films of her own.
Early life
Grady is the daughter of Beverly Harris, a singer of the band, The Harris sisters (Beverly, Marcene and Betty) on Capitol Records and their songs include kissin bug and others.
Her mother later joined the group,
The Platters
The Platters are an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The act ...
.
Her aunt, Marcene Harris was a pianist and songwriter for
Nancy Wilson and
Burt Bacharach
Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Start ...
.
Another of her aunt, Betty, was the wife of the comedian
Redd Foxx
John Elroy Sanford (December 9, 1922 – October 11, 1991), better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Foxx gained success with his raunchy nightclub act before and during the civil rights movemen ...
.
Tammys stepfather, Victor Hanson, had two master's degrees from
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
for Theater Arts and Cinematography and she learned about cameras and got the interest in acting from him at an early age. Victor Hansen was involved in the making of the culturally relevant,
Skaterdater
''Skaterdater'' is a 1965 American short student film. It was produced by Marshal Backlar, and written and directed by Noel Black.
Summary
The film tells a story with no dialogue. The group of boy skaters are suddenly at a point when one of the b ...
a 1965 American short film. It was produced by Marshal Backlar, and written and directed by Noel Black and was the winner of the Palme d'Or for Best Short Film at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival.
Career
Grady was an actress and pro skater on the Television show ''
RollerGames
''RollerGames'' was a U.S. television series that presented a theatrical version of the sport of roller derby, and featured a number of skaters who had been in the original Roller Games league (1961–1975), as well as younger participants. It ...
'' on
KTLA channel 5. She also sang the lead vocals for the same show, ''Hit and Run'' and ''Bad Attitude''.
She has sung on film soundtracks to live performances in many countries. Numerous guest appearances on shows including, "The Geraldo show, Joe Bob Briggs Movie Drive-in Show, Las Vegas Cast Party and special bits on the hit series, Bay Watch. She was chosen by
Playboy
''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
and was selected to shoot with
Stephen Wayda
Stephen Wayda (born December 12, 1946) is an American professional photographer, best known for his photography for ''Playboy'' magazine.
Early life and education
Wayda was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Southern California. After high sch ...
.
She was also selected to perform for Playboy's Girls of Rock in Roll in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
,
Reno
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...
and
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...
.
Grady was also trophy girl at NAACP awards, Hall of fame Fredricks of Hollywood model and Ujena swimwear model.
To pursue her passion for the craft of acting Grady was encouraged to go to London. She was accepted to the prestigious
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...
in England where she studied Shakespeare in 1991. Later, studied with legendary acting coach, Susan Batson Tammy did extensive study on the character work to play the 1940s star, Frances Farmer for Drop-In a theatre piece developed and produced by Susan Batson, Corey Parker and Carl Ford. Following up with the character, Zola Taylor in the one -act play, Why do Fools fall in love about Frankie Lymon at The Stella Adler Theater in Hollywood. Meanwhile, Hollywood, major casting director Billy Hopkins auditioned Tammy and called her back considering her for two pinnacle roles, one in a film called, The Perez Family (Marisa Tomei,Alfred Molina and Anjelica Huston) and the other an untitled, Oliver Stone picture to play opposite Al Pacino. Grady ultimately lost out on the both roles and that marked a turning point to give up acting for a while. "Walking out the door of that audition at the Chateau Marmont I knew if I didn't get this part, it was time for me to quit acting for a while and I'd need to face the other reality that I kept at bay or just didn't see for myself for many many years." "That being to lead a normal life... perhaps marriage, children and focus on family." However, In 2010–2011, she returned to her roots behind the camera as a student at the
New York Film Academy
New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a Private college, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit film school and Drama school, acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles metropolitan ar ...
in Los Angeles and wrote, filmed and directed two short films:
* ''A Blissful Moment''
* ''Birthright''
Filmography
See also
*
Kent Harris
Kent Levaughn Harris (October 15, 1930 – April 9, 2019) was an American songwriter and record producer, who is best known as the writer of novelty tunes such as " Shoppin' for Clothes" (a hit for The Coasters, featured on Broadway’s Musical ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grady, Tammy Hansen
1970 births
Living people
20th-century American actresses
Female models from California
20th-century American singers
Actresses from Los Angeles
American film actresses
21st-century American singers
21st-century American actresses