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Biography · Film & Television

Kathleen Collins

1942–1988

United States

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Biography

Kathleen Collins (March 18, 1942 – September 18, 1988) (also known as Kathleen Conwell, Kathleen Conwell Collins or Kathleen Collins Prettyman) was an African American polymath from Jersey City, New Jersey, notable for her contributions as poet, playwright, writer, filmmaker, director, civil rights activist, and educator. Her two feature narratives – The Cruz Brothers and Miss Malloy (1980) and Losing Ground (1982) – furthered the range of Black women's films. Although Losing Ground was denied large-scale exhibition, it was among the first films created by a Black woman deliberately designed to tell a story intended for popular consumption, with a feature-length narrative structure.

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Wikipedia contributors — original record ↗

Black heritage reference ↗

Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

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