Bonnie Greer, playwright and novelist, dies aged 77

Playwright and novelist Bonnie Greer has died aged 77, her husband David Hutchins has said.

Mr Hutchins said: "It is with profound sadness that I announce that my beloved wife, Bonnie Greer, has died aged 77 after a brief illness.

"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.

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

"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."

Greer was born in Chicago in 1948, the eldest of seven siblings, and lived in New York City, before moving to Britain in 1986.

She married her husband, a solicitor, in 1993. They lived in Notting Hill in London for more than a decade and then in Soho.

Greer was awarded the Verity Bargate Award for Best Play for Munda Negra and she was also the author of the novels Hanging By Her Teeth (1994) and Entropy (2009).

Her memoir and music history, Obama Music, was published in October 2009.

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Some of her other works include the biography Langston Hughes: The Value Of Contradiction (2011) and the play Marilyn And Ella (2008) about actress Marilyn Monroe and singer Ella Fitzgerald.

Greer was appointed to the British Museum's board of trustees in 2005 and later served as deputy chairwoman.

She also served on the boards of the London Film School and Royal Opera House and was appointed a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2022.

The playwright appeared as a panellist on Newsnight Review and Question Time and served as Chancellor of Kingston University in Kingston upon Thames, London.

In 2010, Greer was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to the arts.

In 2016, she told the Guardian: "When I wake up in the morning, I'm just myself. It's only when I leave the front door that I become a black woman to the world."

She added: "I tell black women all the time, 'Don't apologise for yourself and keep your hair nappy - whatever that means to you. Never apologise, make sure you are heard'."

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