Kimberly Hébert Gregory, who starred alongside Walton Goggins on HBO’s cult favorite comedy Vice Principals and lent for voice to the Cartoon Network’s Craig of the Creek, has died.
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Her ex-husband, actor Chester Gregory, announced her death in an Instagram tribute.
“Kimberly Hébert Gregory / You Were Brilliance Embodied, / A Black Woman Whose Mind Lit Every Room, / Whose Presence Carried Both Fire And Grace. / You Taught Us Lessons In Courage, / In Artistry, In Resilience, / And In How To Keep Showing Up, / Even When Life Demanded More Than Its Share,” he wrote in part alongside several candid pictures of his late ex-wife.
Her cause of death was not released. She was 52.
Born on Dec. 7, 1972, in Houston, Gregory attended a performing arts high school before earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology, according to Variety. She later received a master’s degree in social work from the University of Chicago. During this period, she performed in several productions with the Chicago Theatre Company, where she met Chester Gregory.
Her first film credit was in 2007’s I Think I Love My Wife with Chris Rock, Kerry Washington, and Gina Torres. She went on to appear in numerous TV shows, including Gossip Girl, New Amsterdam, Private Practice, Two and a Half Men, Law & Order, Shameless, The Big Bang Theory, Grey’s Anatomy, The Act, Dollface, All Rise, and Barry. She also had recurring roles in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Better Call Saul, and The Chi. In 2014, Gregory also had a recurring role in Lifetime’s dramedy Devious Maids, executive-produced by Eva Longoria.
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However, her breakout role was in HBO’s dark sitcom Vice Principals, where she played incoming school principal Dr. Belinda Brown, opposite the two conniving vice principals played by Danny McBride and Walton Goggins.
In a Saturday night Instagram post, Goggins described Gregory as “one of the best I’ve worked with.”
“I had the honor… the good fortune of getting to know, getting to spend months working with this Queen on Vice Principals,” he continued. “She made me laugh like no other. A professionals professional. A gatdamn SOPRANO that never missed a note.”
Gregory also appeared as Ruth Bowen, a pioneering Black woman talent agent who represented Aretha Franklin, in Genius: Aretha. She had a voice role in Netflix’s Carol & The End of the World and was the female lead in ABC’s Kevin (Probably) Saves the World.
Meanwhile, in films, Gregory appeared in Five Feet Apart (2019), starring Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse, and Spike Lee’s Red Hook Summer (2012). She also starred alongside Uzo Aduba, Matthew Modine, and Aunjanue Ellis in the true-story inspired indie drama Miss Virginia, playing a struggling inner-city mother.
Her final roles included voice work in Cartoon Network’s animated comedy Craig of the Creek, its spinoff series, and prequel film.