Biography
Bridget Gray's love of theatre and performance art is what lead her to move from her small hometown in Illinois to pursue bigger dreams in Los Angeles, CA. Since then her acting chops have been seen in a variety of feature films, television dramas, sitcoms and music videos. Although acting has remained a passion for Bridget, it is her thought inducing poetry and hypnotic stage presence that has made her a highly sought after spokenword performer. Bridget has graced hundreds of stages nationwide, sharing the bill with artists such as John Legend, The Black Eyed Peas, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Joss Stone, Mos Def, Talib Kweli and Congresswoman Maxine Waters. Her electrifying performance quality got her an extended standing ovation at her taping of HBO's "Def Poetry Jam" as well as featured on ABC's "Eye On LA", BET's "Lyric Cafe", ACLU's television series: "The Freedom Files", a role in the feature film "Fighting Words", and hand selected showcases for Norman Lear. In addition to her dynamic performance style her profound lyrics have been published in several anthologies and textbooks, where her words are now studied in classrooms from high school to University levels worldwide. Bridget Gray has been a force on the spokenword scene since 1999 when she won the first poetry slam she ever entered. She went on to win numerous competitions, including The Battle of LA, The Grand Slam Champion Slam, HBO Soul Poetry Slam, Los Angeles Grand Slam, and she's the only woman to win the Hollwood Grand Slam Champion title two years back to back and has represented for the Los Angeles and/or Hollywood Slam Teams 4 times in the National Poetry Slam. Bridget began to transcend the slam arena in 2001 releasing her debut EP "Shades of Gray". It became an underground smash hit getting airplay on mainstream radio as well as NPR. The buzz from Bridget's CD made her a staple on the underground hip hop scene in Los Angeles. In 2003 she was selected from over 400 auditioning MC's and poets to go on 3 month long nationwide major tour sponsored by Nissan, headlining in 11 major cities from L.A. to N.Y. In 2004 the success of this tour got Bridget a gig as the syndicated radio personality "Sypher 1". Her interview/music formated program aired on 10 Radio One Hip Hop and R&B stations including New York's Hot 97 and L.A.'s 100.3 The Beat. Guest's on Bridget's show included Alicia Keys, Ice Cube, Issac Hayes, Floetry, Kelis and many more. In 2005 Bridget released her second CD "Self Love" to rave reviews. She hit the road again, rocking mics at concerts, festivals and universities across the country. In 2006 she co-produced, wrote and starred in the short film "My Letter to Hip Hop" based on her original poem. It won "Best Narrative Short" at the Elevate Film Festival where Bridget was named "Best Actress". The Film went on to feature at the 2006 Girlfest Film Festival and screened 9 times at the Pan African Film Festival. In 2007 Bridget launched her one woman show "Naked Words" in Honolulu for a one weekend engagement in January and sold out all 3 nights. In the spring she received critical acclaim for her performance in the "The Vagina Monologues" in Los Angeles. She also did a stint as a guest correspondent on NBC 4's daytime show "Your LA". In between projects she continued to tour performing at over 100 Colleges, Universities, Theaters, and Clubs across the U.S. In 2008 she added an additional 80 shows to her tour schedule. Bridget also wrote and starred in her second short film "Quantum Quickness" inspired by Dr. Rev. Micheal Beckwith. It was featured at "Revelation" the Agape International Spiritual Center annual conference. In the summer of '08' she went on to write and star in her third short film "Sucker Punch" that screened at the Showdown in Chinatown 24 hour film festival. In 2009 production has begun for the release of her long anticipated 3rd CD, recording with live musicians from the Tempo Valley collective as well as a variety of guest producers, poets and singers from around the globe. They say every overnight success is 10 years in the making so keep an eye out for what's next! This is the year.
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