24 Nov CCH Pounder ~ Connections to Christmas and Crime

CCH stands for Carol Christine Hilaria Pounder (born December 25, 1952) in Georgetown, British Guiana (now Guyana) where she grew up on a sugar estate, daughter of Ronald Urlington Pounder and of Betsy Enid Arnella (née James).  She was educated in England, and in 1971, at age 18, she moved to the United States, where she attended Ithaca College.^. As a Guyanese-American actress, she has appeared in numerous plays, films, television shows, and miniseries.

Pounder portrayed Dr. Angela Hicks in the medical drama series ER (1994–1997), Captain Claudette Wyms in the FX police drama series The Shield (2002–2008) and District Attorney Tyne Patterson in Sons of Anarchy (2013-2014). From 2014 until the show’s conclusion in 2021, she portrayed medical examiner Dr. Loretta Wade on the police drama series NCIS: New Orleans. Pounder is also the voice of Amanda Waller in the animated show Justice League Unlimited (2004–06).

In film, she appeared in All That Jazz (1979), Go Tell It on the Mountain (1984), Prizzi’s Honor (1985), Bagdad Cafe (1987), Postcards from the Edge (1990), Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990), Benny & Joon (1993), Demon Knight (1995), Face/Off (1997), End of Days (1999), Orphan (2009), Avatar (2009), The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013), and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019

Career.

Pounder made her acting debut in the film All That Jazz (1979). She continued her professional career in New York City theater, where she appeared in The Mighty Gents, by playwright Richard Wesley, and Open Admissions on Broadway. She moved to Los Angeles in 1982.^[3] She starred in the film Bagdad Café,^[4] and has made smaller appearances in many other successful films.

She has focused primarily on her television career. In the early 1980s, Pounder first appeared in guest roles on Hill Street Blues, and then on several popular shows (The Cosby Show, L.A. Law, The X-Files, Living Single, and Quantum Leap) before landing a long-running recurring role as Dr. Angela Hicks on ER, from 1994 to 1997. In the midst of this she co-starred in the Tales From the Crypt feature film Demon Knight (1995). She then returned to guest appearances on other shows, including The Practice, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Millennium, The West Wing (where she was considered for the role of C. J. Cregg), and the short-lived sitcom Women in Prison.

From 2002 to 2008, she starred as Detective Claudette Wyms in the FX police drama The Shield. For this role she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2005 and an NAACP Image Award.^[5] She had previously been nominated for an Emmy in 1995 (for guest starring in The X-Files) and in 1997 (for her supporting role on ER). She has also lent her voice to several video games and animated projects, including Aladdin and the King of Thieves, True Crime: Streets of LA, Gargoyles as Desdemona and Coldfire, and Justice League Unlimited as government agent Amanda Waller, which role she reprised for the animated movie adaption of the comic book Superman/Batman: Public Enemies^[6] as well as the video game Batman: Arkham Origins, its sequel Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, and another animated film that takes place in continuity with the games, Batman: Assault on Arkham.

Pounder was also one of the readers for the HBO film Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narrative (2003), directed by Ed Bell and Thomas Lennon. She appeared on the Syfy series Warehouse 13 from 2009 until its finale on May 19, 2014. Pounder also was one of the stars of Fox‘s cancelled 2009 sitcom Brothers. Pounder was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her appearance in the BBC/HBO series The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. She had a recurring role as DA Thyne Patterson on the FX crime drama series Sons of Anarchy (2013–14). She co-starred in The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013). In Disney’s The Lion Guard she voices Kongwe, the wise old turtle. In October 2018, she made an appearance in the London production of Wicked.

As one of the founders of Artists for a New South Africa, Pounder has energized awareness of post-apartheid and HIV/AIDS issues.^[7] In an interview, she said about the pandemic: “When it’s this massive disease, and it’s affecting things in 5,000 different ways, it requires great strength and power—and there is power in numbers. So we need to involve as many people as we can, like we do with ANSA. I call it my little engine that could. It is a remarkable, tiny organization with a huge outreach. We use actors and artists with the biggest voices so they can use every opportunity to talk about AIDS.”

It was in 1991 that she married to her anthropologist, Senegalese husband, Boubacar Kone, who passed away on August 3, 2016.  They have three children named Libya, Nicole, and Mathew Kone. Pounder has a deep love of art, and this passion is reflected in her over 500 piece personal art compilation. For 15 years, she and her husband owned the Pounder-Kone Art Space, a gallery in Log Angeles.  They also founded and built the Musee Boribana, the first contemporary art museum in Dakar. In 2014, the couple donated the museum and its collections to the country.

Pounder left Los Angeles during the filming of NCIS.  After her husband passed away she bought a home there.   Actually an Arts and Crafts style house, build circa 1925 in the Faubourg St. John neighborhood.  This home required extensive renovation, a perfect mix of Pounder’s experience, education, and talent.  In the past, there were four historic homes brought back to life under her direction.  She has an innate sense of how to see beyond the flaws. Now, her personal art collection is displayed in the home in New Orleans.  The entire basement was transformed into a white box by using an epoxy white paint to bring a bright and shiny look in order to frame the artwork in this home art salon.

Regarding the location of the house near the Mississippi River, “I lived near a river in Guyana as a child and as an adult I have returned to living by a river.  I like this ‘river to river’ connection.”

Pounder recently signed on for her first role since NCIS: New Orleans cancelled.  The rumor is The Good Fight Season 5 on Paramount+ will be her next project and role.  Net worth is reported at around $6 million dollars.

Photo credit: From Wash D.C.© copyright John Mathew Smith, Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA