Regina King

Regina Rene King (born January 15, 1971) is an American actress and director.

She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and four Primetime Emmy Awards.

Regina Rene King was born on January 15, 1971, in Los Angeles County, California, and grew up in View Park–Windsor Hills.

Her ancestors were part of the triangle slave trade; they originated in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Senegal.

Her parents, however, are both from the South.

She is the elder daughter of Gloria Jean (Cain), a special education teacher, and Thomas Henry King Jr., an electrician.

King's parents divorced in 1979.

Her younger sister is former actress Reina King, who appeared on What's Happening Now!!

King first gained attention for playing Brenda Jenkins in the television series 227 (1985–1990).

King began her acting career in 1985, playing the role of Brenda Jenkins on the television series 227, a role she played until the show ended in 1990.

She went on to appear in the John Singleton films Boyz n the Hood, Poetic Justice, and Higher Learning.

King attended Westchester High School, graduating in 1988.

She later studied communications at the University of Southern California, dropping out after two years when she realized her passion for acting.

She has also played supporting roles in the drama films Boyz n the Hood (1991), Poetic Justice (1993), A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996) How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), and Ray (2004), as well as in the comedies Down to Earth (2001), Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003), A Cinderella Story (2004), and Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous (2005).

Her subsequent roles included the film Friday (1995), the animated series The Boondocks (2005–2014), and the crime television series Southland (2009–2013).

In 1995, she was featured in the hit comedy film Friday.

The next year, she starred in the Martin Lawrence dark comedy-romance A Thin Line Between Love and Hate as Mia, 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.

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.

She has also directed the music video for the 2010 song "Finding My Way Back" by Jaheim.

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.

She received four Primetime Emmy Awards for her roles 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 directed episodes for several television shows, including Scandal in 2015 and 2016 and This Is Us in 2017.

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.

In 2015 and 2016, King won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie for her roles.

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.

She earned critical acclaim for her performance in the 2018 film If Beale Street Could Talk, earning the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.

She has since starred in the western The Harder They Fall (2021)

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.

In 2019, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

King's feature film directorial debut came with the drama One Night in Miami... (2020), which earned her nominations for a Golden Globe Award for Best Director and a Directors Guild of America Award for First Time Feature Film.

She became the second black woman nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Director.