British-American playwright and novelist Bonnie Greer has died at the age of 77.
She had been suffering from a “brief illness”, her husband, David Hutchins, said.
“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,” he said.
Greer was born in Chicago in 1948. She first made her mark in the world of theatre, studying acting under revered film director Elia Kazan at the Actors Studio in New York City.
She moved to the UK in 1986, serving as a board member on a number of prestigious British institutions, including the British Museum, the Royal Opera House and the London Film School.
Greer was awarded the Verity Bargate Award for Best Play for Munda Negra, and she was also the author of novels including Hanging by Her Teeth (1994) and Entropy (2009).
In October 2009, her memoir and music history, Obama Music, was published.
To British audiences, Greer was also known for her frequent appearances as a panellist on TV programmes Newsnight Review and Question Time.
In 2019, her defence of Ireland during a Question Time debate on Brexit made her a hero in that country, with Derry Girls actor Nicola Coughlan writing on social media: “Oh my god Bonnie Greer, if Ireland ever has a Queen, [I] nominate you.”
Elsewhere, she served chancellor of London's Kingston University, and was honoured with an OBE in 2010 for services to the arts. In 2022, she was awarded a fellowship from the Royal Society of Liteature.
“To me, she was my partner, confidante and inspiration, and I feel profoundly privileged to have shared my life with her,” Mr Hutchins’s statement continued.
“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.”
In a 2015 interview with The Independent, Greer revealed that she originally planned to become a nun, rather than a writer, but changed her mind when “I told my mother, who laughed so hard that I was put off”.
She also revealed that she was the direct descendant of a Black man who owned slaves, and that one of her mentors was the American writer and journalist Norman Mailer.
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