Kimberly Hébert Gregory obit

Standout ‘Vice Principals’ actor dies at 52. ‘She made me laugh like no other,’ Walton Goggins says.

 

She was not on the list.

Hollywood is mourning actor Kimberly Hébert Gregory, known for the series “Vice Principals."

Actor and singer Chester Gregory, Hébert Gregory’s ex-husband, shared news of her death on Instagram.

“You were brilliance embodied, a Black woman whose mind lit every room, whose presence carried both fire and grace,” he said. “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.”

The actor was 52 when she died Friday.

In the HBO series “Vice Principals,” Hébert Gregory played Dr. Belinda Brown, the newly appointed principal at North Jackson High School. Her character stood in the way of a position coveted by two vice principals in a fierce rivalry.

Walton Goggins and series co-creator Danny McBride played the warring vice principals — Lee Russell and Neal Gamby — in the show, which debuted in 2016 and ran for two seasons. The series sees the sworn enemies join forces to try and oust Brown from her role.

“We lost one of the best yesterday… one of the best I’ve ever worked with. Kimberly Hebert Gregory,” Goggins said on Instagram Saturday. “I had the honor… the good fortune of getting to know, getting to spend months working with this Queen on Vice Principals. She made me laugh like no other. A professionals professional. A gatdamn SOPRANO that never missed a note. You will be missed my friend. As much as you know."

Busy Philipps, who played Gamby’s ex-wife on “Vice Principals,” commented on Goggins’ post.

“Oh my god i’m devastated to hear this,” Philipps said. “She was a light and a force. She will be missed.”

Hébert Gregory was also part of the main casts of the ABC series “Kevin (Probably) Saves the World,” which premiered in 2017, and National Geographic’s “Genius: Aretha,” about Aretha Franklin, as Ruth Jean Baskerville Bowen.

In 2020, she was a recurring cast member on the Hulu series “Future Man.”

Hébert Gregory also appeared in TV series like “Better Call Saul,” “Devious Maids,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Two and a Half Men,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”

Her film credits include “John Henry” (2020), “Miss Virginia” (2019) and “Five Feet Apart” (2019).

In his Instagram tribute to Hébert Gregory, Chester Gregory called the son he shared with her “the song we wrote together,” saying he would be “the living echo” of her light.

“Through him, your brilliance will never fade,” Gregory said. “Through him, your laughter will always resound.”

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