Regina King

Regina Rene King (born January 15, 1971) is an American actress, director and producer. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and four Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

King first gained attention for starring in the television sitcom 227 (1985–1990). Her subsequent roles included the film Friday (1995), the animated series The Boondocks (2005–2014), and the crime television series Southland (2009–2013). She received four Primetime Emmy Awards for her performances in the ABC anthology series American Crime (2015–2017), the Netflix miniseries Seven Seconds, and the HBO limited series Watchmen (2019). Her other television roles include the drama series The Leftovers (2015–2017) and the sitcom The Big Bang Theory (2013–2019).

King has also played supporting roles in the drama films Boyz n the Hood (1991), Poetic Justice (1993), How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), and Ray (2004), and the comedies Down to Earth (2001), Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003), A Cinderella Story (2004), and Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous (2005). She earned critical acclaim, as well as the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for her role in If Beale Street Could Talk (2018). She then starred in the western The Harder They Fall (2021), played the title role in the biopic Shirley (2024) and played Detective Roman in crime thriller Caught Stealing (2025).

King has directed episodes for several television shows, including Scandal and This Is Us. She has also directed the music video for the 2010 song "Finding My Way Back" by Jaheim. King's feature film directorial debut came with the drama One Night in Miami... (2020), which earned her a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Director.

Early life and education Regina Rene King was born on January 15, 1971, in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in View Park–Windsor Hills. King's ancestors were part of the transatlantic slave trade; they originated from Liberia, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. Both of her parents are from the Southern United States, and they later moved to Los Angeles during the Great Migration. Her mother, Gloria Jean , was a special education teacher, and her father, Thomas Henry King Jr., was an electrician. She has a younger sister, Reina, who co-starred with her in the Shirley Chisholm Netflix biographical film Shirley. King first started in dance classes training in ballet and jazz before starting to tag along with her sister to acting classes. She soon began studying acting under her acting coach Betty Bridges. King attended Westchester High School, graduating in 1989. She later studied communications at the University of Southern California for two years before pursuing her passion for acting.

Career

1985–2004: Early roles and breakthrough King began her acting career in 1985, as Brenda Jenkins on the television series 227, a role she played until the show ended in 1990. Her performance during the five-season run of the show was well-received and earned King two Young Artist Award nominations: one for Best Actress Starring in a New Television Series in 1986 and one for Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress in a Long Running Series Comedy or Drama in 1987. In 1995, she was featured in the hit comedy film Friday. and she gained fame starring in blockbuster romantic comedy film Jerry Maguire as Marcee Tidwell.

In 1998, she was cast in Tony Scott's film Enemy of the State, receiving her first nomination at the NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture. In the same year, King took part in the films How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Mighty Joe Young, and Love and Action in Chicago. In 2001, King played Sontee Jenkins in Chris and Paul Weitz's Down to Earth, receiving praise from critics for her performance. The following year, she played the main role in television series Leap of Faith.

After taking part in teen romantic comedy film A Cinderella Story, King was cast as Margie Hendrix in the Academy Awards nominated biographical film Ray, about Ray Charles. For her performance in Ray, King won the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress, the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress and was part of a cast nomination from the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

2005–2017: Established actress

In 2005, King was cast in Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous and began voicing the characters Huey and Riley Freeman for the animated series The Boondocks. In 2007, King played the main role of Sandra Palmer in season six of television series 24 and acted in films Year of the Dog and This Christmas. From 2009 to 2013, King played Detective Lydia Adams in TNT police drama Southland, receiving multiple Critics' Choice Television Award nominations, and winning two NAACP Image Awards.

After taking part in Rick Famuyiwa's romantic comedy film Our Family Wedding, King appeared as guest judge in RuPaul's Drag Race. In 2013, King played Caltech HR manager Janine Davis in the television series The Big Bang Theory. In 2014, she was cast in two television series, The Strain and Shameless.

In 2015, King was a cast member on ABC's John Ridley-penned ensemble drama American Crime, playing three roles including a devout member of the Nation of Islam and the sister of a drug addict accused of murder. Also in 2015, King starred in The Leftovers, which earned her a Peabody Award.

From 2015 to 2017, King began to pursue work as a director and writer, initially directing six episodes of the drama series Being Mary Jane. In 2016, she directed two episodes of Scandal, and single episodes of The Catch, Animal Kingdom, This Is Us and Shameless.

2018–present: Awards success and directorial debut In 2018, King played the mother of a murdered black teenager in the Netflix original series Seven Seconds, winning her third Primetime Emmy Award. Her performance in the 2018 film If Beale Street Could Talk, directed by Barry Jenkins, garnered critical acclaim and earned her the Golden Globe Award and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. King additionally won the Critics' Choice, Los Angeles Film Critics, New York Film Critics, National Society of Film Critics, and numerous other critic awards for Supporting Actress, making her the most awarded actor of 2018 in film. In regards to King's performance, Richard Roeper for the Chicago Sun-Times wrote: "Regina King is blazingly good in a nomination-worthy performance as Tish's mother. Even when there's fire in her eyes as she defends her daughter, you can see her primary motivating force is love. The love she has for her child, and for the child of her child." In his review for The Observer, Mark Kermode wrote: "As for Regina King, her brilliantly modulated performance is a masterclass in physical understatement. One moment stands out [...] 'Mamma... ,' says Tish, tentatively, and even before she turns to face us, an almost imperceptible movement of King's neck and shoulders tells us that Sharon knows exactly what her daughter is about to say."

Re-teaming with The Leftovers creator Damon Lindelof, King starred in the 2019 limited series Watchmen, for which she received acclaim and won the TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama, Critics' Choice Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series, and her fourth Primetime Emmy Award. In an IndieWire review for the series, Ben Travers wrote: "King is nothing short of amazing — yes, she's got an Oscar and three Emmys, but she puts even more range on display in a turn that effortlessly pivots between invulnerable and vulnerable." In a decade-end list by Caroline Framke and Daniel D'Addario for Variety, King's performance was amongst the best of the 2010s in television. In July 2019, it was announced King would direct One Night in Miami... based upon the play of the same name. In a CBS interview regarding the movie, King said taking on the project was daunting and "scary in a good way" and described the connection she felt to these characters saying, "I felt like I knew all of these men. I saw my son in these conversations. I saw my father in these conversations. They love, they're vulnerable, they're strong." The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 7, 2020, the first film directed by an African-American woman to be selected in the festival's history. King received numerous awards and nominations at major critics' prizes, earning a Best Director nomination at the Golden Globe Awards

In October 2021, King starred in Netflix's American Western film The Harder They Fall, directed by Jeymes Samuel, winning several awards including the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture.

King next produced Netflix's Shirley, a biopic about the first black congresswoman Shirley Chisholm during her historic presidential campaign, and starred as the title character. It was written and directed by John Ridley, with whom she previously worked on American Crime. In May 2021, it was announced that King would direct race-themed monster movie Bitter Root for Legendary Entertainment. She served as an executive producer and directed the David E. Kelley–written television series A Man in Full for Netflix, based on the Tom Wolfe novel of the same name.

Styles and themes In her directorial projects, King has aimed to create movies about representation, advocacy for diversity and uplifting unseen storytellers. King has further cemented her passion in these themes onstage at the 2019 Golden Globes stating, "In the next two years, everything that I produce — I am making a vow and it's going to be tough — to make sure that everything I produce is 50% women." before his suicide on January 21, 2022, at age 26. Since the death of her son, King has discussed the complexities of grief and loss as well as the importance of mental health awareness.

Flag Day U.S. Marshall Blake data-sort-value="Harder They Fall, The" | The Harder They Fall Trudy Smith 2024 Shirley Shirley Chisholm Also producer 2025 Caught Stealing Detective Roman 2027 Queen Nehanda Post-production

Television Year Title Role Notes 1985–1990 227 Brenda Jenkins Main role 1994 Northern Exposure Mother Nature Episode: "Baby Blues" New York Undercover Marah Episode: "Tasha" 1995 Living Single Zina Episode: "The Shake-Up" 1999 Where the Truth Lies Lillian Rose-Martin Television film 2000 If These Walls Could Talk 2 Allie 2002 Leap of Faith Cynthia Main role (season 1) Damaged Care Cheryl Griffith Television film 2005–2014 The Boondocks Huey Freeman / Riley Freeman Voice, main role 2006 Women in Law Pilot 2007 24 Sandra Palmer Main role (season 6) 2008 Living Proof Ellie Jackson Television film 2009–2013 Southland Detective Lydia Adams Main role 2012 RuPaul's Drag Race Herself (guest judge) Episode: "Dragazines" 2013 Divorce: A Love Story Cassandra Television film 2013–2019 The Big Bang Theory Janine Davis 6 episodes 2014 The Strain Ruby Wain 3 episodes Shameless Gail Johnson 4 episodes The Gabby Douglas Story Natalie Hawkins Television film 2015–2017 American Crime Aliyah Shadeed Recurring role (season 1) Terri LaCroix Main role (season 2) Kimara Walters Main role (season 3) 2015, 2017 The Leftovers Erika Murphy Main role (season 2), guest role (season 3) 2015 Pariah Karen Television film 2016 The Snowy Day Mom Voice;, Television special 2017 The Adventures of Hooligan Squad in World War III Colonel Rah Television film 2018 Seven Seconds Latrice Butler Main role 2019 Watchmen Angela Abar / Sister Night 2021 Saturday Night Live Herself (host) Episode: "Regina King / Nathaniel Rateliff" 2022 Phat Tuesdays: The Era Of Hip Hop Comedy Herself Documentary series

As director Year Title Notes 2013 Southland Episode: "Off Duty" Let the Church Say Amen Television film 2014 Story of a Village Feature film 2015 Being Mary Jane 6 episodes 2015–2016 Scandal 2 episodes 2016 The Catch Episode: "The Princess and the I.P." Animal Kingdom Episode: "Child Care" Greenleaf Episode: "Veni, Vidi, Vici" Pitch Episode: "The Break" 2017 This Is Us Episode: "The 20s" Shameless Episode: "Fuck Paying It Forward" 2018 The Good Doctor Episode: "Heartfelt" Insecure Episode: "Ghost-Like" The Finest Feature film 2020 One Night in Miami... Feature film, also executive producer 2024 A Man in Full 3 episodes, also executive producer 2025 Forever 1 episode Release date unknown Bitter Root Feature film

As music video director Year Song Artist 2010 "Finding My Way Back" Jaheim 2011 "Not My Daddy" Kelly Price featuring Stokley

Awards and nominations List of awards and nominations received by Regina King