CCH Pounder

The CCH stands for Carol Christine Hilaria, her birth name. Most of her characters are enriched with positive attributes -- strength, confidence, integrity, strong-mindedness -- and it is a testament to the abilities of this four-time Emmy nominated actress that she continues on such a high plane in a five-decade career.Born on Christmas Day 1952 in Guyana, she was raised on a sugar cane plantation. Her parents, Betsy Enid Arnella (James) and Ronald Urlington Pounder, moved the family to the States while she was still a young girl, but she and her sister were subsequently sent to a convent boarding school in Britain where they were introduced to art and the classics. Following high school graduation, she arrived in New York and studied at Ithaca College, where her acting talents were strongly tapped into. Regional and classical repertory theater followed, earning roles in such productions as "The Mighty Gents" (1979) with 'Morgan Freeman' (qv) at the New York Shakespeare Festival and "Open Admissions" (1984), her Broadway debut. Other stage work includes "Coriolanus," "Antony and Cleopatra," "The Frog," "The Lodger" and "Mumbo Jumbo."After bit/featured roles in _All That Jazz (1979)_ (qv), _I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can (1982)_ (qv) and _Prizzi's Honor (1985)_ (qv), CCH earned cult status in the art-house film _Bagdad Cafe (1987)_ (qv) (aka "Bagdad Café" in the US) as the offbeat owner of a roadside café. She continued to impress with support roles in _Postcards from the Edge (1990)_ (qv), _The Importance of Being Earnest (1992)_ (qv), an all-black version: as Miss Prism), _Benny & Joon (1993)_ (qv), _RoboCop 3 (1993)_ (qv), _Sliver (1993)_ (qv), _Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995)_ (qv),_Face/Off (1997)_ (qv), _Funny Valentines (1999)_ (qv), _The Devil in Miss Jones 6 (1999)_ (qv), _Baby of the Family (2002)_ (qv), _Rain (2008)_ (qv), _Orphan (2009)_ (qv), _Avatar (2009)_ (qv) (as the voice of Mo'at, and its sequels), _My Girlfriend's Back (2010)_ (qv). _Home Again (2012)_ (qv) (as a Jamaican) and _The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013)_ (qv).Pounder's prominence came, however, with television. Often cast as succinct, professional types (doctors, policewoman, judges) or characters with a variety of accents, she is known for her understated intensity and earned an Emmy nomination for her stint on the hospital drama _ER (1994)_ (qv). She has also performed in a number of highly acclaimed topical mini-movie dramas, including _American Playhouse: Go Tell It on the Mountain (1985)_ (qv), _Common Ground (1990)_ (qv), _Murder in Mississippi (1990)_ (qv), _Little Girl Fly Away (1998)_ (qv), _A Touch of Hope (1999)_ (qv), _Boycott (2001)_ (qv), _Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)_ (qv) (as Winnie Mandela) for which a number of kudos have come her way.Millennium TV output includes regular/recurring roles on the series _The Shield (2002)_ (qv) in which she earned an NAACP Award and Emmy nomination as Detective Claudette Wym; the social drama _Ciencias del espacio (2008)_ (qv) as matriarch Mrs. Trainor, and _NCIS: New Orleans (2014)_ (qv) as medical examiner Loretta Wade. She later found voice work in animated projects and video games.::Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net