Kimberly Hébert Gregory, an actress best known for playing the spirited and no-nonsense high school principal Dr. Belinda Brown in HBO’s dark comedy “Vice Principals,” died on Friday. She was 52.
Her death was announced by her ex-husband, Chester Gregory, also an actor, in a post on Instagram on Saturday. The cause and location of death were not provided.
Ms. Gregory was a prolific actress who had dozens of acting credits in television, film and theater over more than two decades. She starred in “Vice Principals” alongside Danny R. McBride and Walton Goggins, who played two vice principals at the fictional North Jackson High School scheming to take down their rival, the new principal played by Ms. Gregory.
In a memorable scene from the show’s first season, Ms. Gregory’s character sought to fire up the school during a lackluster football pep rally.
“May I have the floor for a second?” she said, interrupting a cheerleader’s speech to explain that she had lost her house and that she had lost her cool at times, but that she never gave up.
“I am standing here as living proof that we get to rewrite our history,” she said, adding, “Together, we will rewrite this school’s history.”
The students and staff roared, and the principal ended the scene with a dramatic mic drop.
The series debuted in 2016 and ran for two seasons, according to IMDb, with Ms. Gregory appearing in 11 episodes.
Kimberly Hébert Gregory was born on Dec. 7, 1972, in Houston, where she graduated from the High School for Performing and Visual Arts as a theater student in 1992, according to the school’s community publication.
As a little girl, she knew she wanted to become an actress after watching the Academy Awards with her mother.
“I wanted to do something similar to what I saw being celebrated at the show,” she told People in 2016.
A list of survivors was not immediately available.
Her first film acting credit was for playing a babysitter in the romantic comedy “I Think I Love My Wife” in 2007, starring Chris Rock.
Over her career she amassed at least 50 acting credits, playing various roles including a nurse, a prosecutor and a senator. She appeared on popular American sitcoms such as “The Big Bang Theory” and “Two and a Half Men.”
She also performed in various theater productions. In 2012, she played Laverne, a pregnant cleaning lady, in the London-set comedy “My Wonderful Day” with the Two River Theater Company in Red Bank, N.J.
Ms. Gregory’s film roles included ones in the coming-of-age drama “Five Feet Apart” in 2019 and the thriller-drama “John Henry” in 2020.
Her acting extended to voice work, mostly recently on the animated children’s series “Craig of the Creek,” in which she appeared in more than 40 episodes.
“A professionals professional,” Mr. Goggins called Ms. Gregory in an Instagram tribute after her death. “A gatdamn SOPRANO that never missed a note.”
Kirsten Noyes contributed research.
Johnny Diaz is a reporter for The Times covering breaking news from Miami.
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