to Tamara Dobson.Growing up all of the super heroes on television were white and rarely women. Wonderwoman was the only one but she wasn't real. As a little black girl in Canada, I was consumed by wanting to look like and be like "Cleopatra Jones". The first time I ever saw her, I immediately wanted to star in the movie that revived her ground breaking role. Who was the woman behind the image of this powerful, unstoppable black woman?
Her name was Tamara Dobson. She passed away quietly on Monday, October 2, 2006 of complications from pneumonia and multiple sclerosis at a Baltimore rehabilitation facility where she had been living for the last two years. She had no children and was never married.
Where were the tributes, the news breaks, celebrity support, the specials in the name of this sistah? Nothing about the impact this sistah had on the development of positive self-image. She made little girls feel powerful, grown women feel sexy, and men fall to their knees wishing for just a quick glance from this tall African goddess.
Tamara Dobson was born May 14, 1947. She worked as a model appearing in magazines such as Vogue, Essence, and Mademoiselle. Her best cover ever was on Ebony magazine sporting her signature giant afro. She also appeared in a number of television commercials and served as the face of Faberge's "Tigress" and Revlon's "Charlie" perfumes. In 1973, Ms. Dobson burst onto the silver screen in her pioneering role of "Cleopatra Jones",
the introduction of the world's first black super heroine. Prior to her role as Cleopatra Jones, the blaxploitation genre had been distinguished primarily by black men doing battle with the white establishment, crooked cops, drug dealers, and pimps. "Cleopatra Jones" would be the inspiration for other tough, black female leads like "Coffey", "Foxy Brown", and "Black Belt Jones".
In 1975 she reprised her super spy role in "Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold". 
A federal agent fighting the drug trade in the United States and abroad, her character was considered to be the female version of James Bond.
This kung fu kicking, afro wearing, six foot-two inch sistah, made being tough hot and sexy. She inspired many of the mid-1970s fashion trends, including the popular waist-length, leather-trimmed fur jacket.
Tamara Dobson was my hero and I wanted to just be like her. I am tremendously saddened by her death. She was a pioneer and trailblazer in Hollywood at a time when a black women were rarely shown in a positive light. She was powerful enough to challenge the stereotypes of black women in both black and white America. Other than Angela Davis, she rocked the afro like no other! Hail to Queen -- Tamara Dobson.
