Born in Chicago in 1948, Greer wrote plays from a young age and went on to study theatre in her home city and before attending the Actors Studio in New York with director Elia Kazan.

Greer moved to the UK in 1986 and became a familiar face on UK TV, appearing as a panellist on programmes like Newsnight Review and Question Time.

She penned award-winning works like Munda Negra, which won her the Verity Bargate Award for best play, and novels such as Hanging by Her Teeth (1994) and Entropy (2009).

Once named by the Observer, external as one of the country's leading public intellectuals, Greer's work - across a range of disciplines and platforms - often tackled topics around culture, race and public institutions.

Speaking to the Guardian, external in 2016 in the aftermath of the Black Lives Matter movement, Greer said: "When I wake up in the morning, I'm just myself. It's only when I leave the 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. Make sure you are heard'."

Greer served on the boards of cultural institutions including the British Museum, Royal Opera House and London Film School, and was chancellor of London's Kingston University.

Her other published works include a memoir titled A Parallel Life and a biography of US poet and playwright Langston Hughes.

Also in 2009, her part-memoir, part-music-history book, Obama Music, was published.

Greer was made an OBE in 2010 for services to the arts.

In 2022, she was appointed as a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Read More