Bonnie Greer, writer and cultural commentator, dies aged 77

The British-American novelist and playwright who regularly appeared on panel shows will be remembered for her ‘warmth, humour and generosity’, says her husband

In a statement, Bonnie Greer's husband David Hutchins said that she died on Tuesday evening following a brief illness.

The British-American novelist, playwright and commentator Bonnie Greer has died aged 77.

In a statement, her husband David Hutchins said that she died on Tuesday evening following a brief illness.

Greer’s “intelligence, courage and distinctive voice made an enduring contribution to British cultural and public life”, said Hutchins. 

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

Born on 16 November 1948, Greer moved from the US to the UK in 1986, and became a citizen in 1997.

Greer’s work – which often focused on the lives of minorities, and of women – spanned novels, nonfiction, plays and broadcasting.

Her first book, Hanging By Her Teeth, published in 1994, was a novel about a Black American woman travelling through the US and Europe in search of her father. Her later books included Obama Music (2009), about her and the former US president’s connections to Chicago’s South Side, and Langston Hughes: The Value of Contradiction (2011), a biography of the Harlem Renaissance figure. In 2022, she was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Greer regularly appeared as a panellist on Newsnight Review and Question Time. She served on the boards of the Royal Opera House, the British Museum and the London Film School, and was chancellor of Kingston University, London.

In the 2010 birthday honours, she was appointed OBE for contribution to the arts.

Hutchins said that “those closest to Bonnie will remember her warmth, humour, generosity and extraordinary ability to bring people together”.

More to follow

 - The Guardian