CCH Pounder
- Actress
- Producer
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) withMorgan Freemanat 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 inAll That Jazz (1979),I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can (1982)andPrizzi's Honor (1985),CCH earned cult status in the art-house filmOut of Rosenheim (1987)(aka "Bagdad Café" in the US) as the offbeat owner of a roadside café. She continued to impress with support roles inPostcards from the Edge (1990),The Importance of Being Earnest (1992),an all-black version: as Miss Prism),Benny & Joon (1993),RoboCop 3 (1993),Sliver (1993),Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995),Face/Off (1997),Funny Valentines (1999),The Devil in Miss Jones 6 (1999),Baby of the Family (2002),Rain (2008),Orphan (2009),Avatar (2009)(as the voice of Mo'at, and its sequels),My Girlfriend's Back (2010).Home Again (2012)(as a Jamaican) andThe Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013).
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 dramaER (1994).She has also performed in a number of highly acclaimed topical mini-movie dramas, includingGo Tell It on the Mountain (1985),Common Ground (1990),Murder in Mississippi (1990),Little Girl Fly Away (1998),A Touch of Hope (1999),Boycott (2001),Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)(as Winnie Mandela) for which a number of kudos have come her way.
Millennium TV output includes regular/recurring roles on the seriesThe Shield (2002)in which she earned an NAACP Award and Emmy nomination as Detective Claudette Wym; the social dramaCiencias del espacio (2008)as matriarch Mrs. Trainor, andNCIS: New Orleans (2014)as medical examiner Loretta Wade. She later found voice work in animated projects and video games.
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) withMorgan Freemanat 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 inAll That Jazz (1979),I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can (1982)andPrizzi's Honor (1985),CCH earned cult status in the art-house filmOut of Rosenheim (1987)(aka "Bagdad Café" in the US) as the offbeat owner of a roadside café. She continued to impress with support roles inPostcards from the Edge (1990),The Importance of Being Earnest (1992),an all-black version: as Miss Prism),Benny & Joon (1993),RoboCop 3 (1993),Sliver (1993),Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995),Face/Off (1997),Funny Valentines (1999),The Devil in Miss Jones 6 (1999),Baby of the Family (2002),Rain (2008),Orphan (2009),Avatar (2009)(as the voice of Mo'at, and its sequels),My Girlfriend's Back (2010).Home Again (2012)(as a Jamaican) andThe Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013).
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 dramaER (1994).She has also performed in a number of highly acclaimed topical mini-movie dramas, includingGo Tell It on the Mountain (1985),Common Ground (1990),Murder in Mississippi (1990),Little Girl Fly Away (1998),A Touch of Hope (1999),Boycott (2001),Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)(as Winnie Mandela) for which a number of kudos have come her way.
Millennium TV output includes regular/recurring roles on the seriesThe Shield (2002)in which she earned an NAACP Award and Emmy nomination as Detective Claudette Wym; the social dramaCiencias del espacio (2008)as matriarch Mrs. Trainor, andNCIS: New Orleans (2014)as medical examiner Loretta Wade. She later found voice work in animated projects and video games.