Regina Rene King is an Academy Award winning American actress and director. King first gained attention in 1985 for her role in the NBC television series 227. She appeared in both television and film, rising to greater prominence with roles in the films Friday, Jerry Maguire, and the crime television series Southland. From 2015 to 2017, King starred in the ABC anthology series American Crime, for which she won two Primetime Emmy Awards, and in 2018, she starred in the Netflix miniseries Seven Seconds, for which she won her third Emmy Award. Also in 2018, her role as a troubled mother in the film If Beale Street Could Talk won her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. King's other television roles include voice work for Huey and Riley Freeman on the Adult Swim animated series The Boondocks, the drama series The Leftovers, and the sitcom The Big Bang Theory. She has also played supporting roles in the films Boyz n the Hood, Poetic Justice, ', Ray, and '. In 2019, she starred in the HBO superhero series Watchmen. King has also directed episodes for several television shows, including Scandal in 2015 and 2016 and This Is Us in 2017. She has also directed the music video for the 2010 song "Finding My Way Back" by Jaheim. Time magazine named King one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019.
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. In 1995, she was featured in the hit comedy film Friday. In 1996, she starred in the Martin Lawrence dark comedy-romance A Thin Line Between Love and Hate as Mia. King gained fame starring in the 1996 blockbuster romantic comedy filmJerry Maguire as Marcee Tidwell, the wife of Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s character. She played Will Smith's character's wife in Enemy of the State, and was also featured in How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Mighty Joe Young, Down to Earth, Daddy Day Care, ', A Cinderella Story, Ray and '. Beginning in the mid-2000s, she had ongoing roles on several TV series, including acclaimed work as the voice of Huey and Riley Freeman for the animated series The Boondocks and Detective Lydia Adams on the TNTpolice dramaSouthland. She also appeared in roles on 24, The Big Bang Theory, and Shameless. In 2007 she played Lisa Moore in This Christmas. She was a cast member on ABC's John Ridley-penned ensemble drama American Crime, and played a devout member of the Nation of Islam and sister to a drug addict accused of murder. In September 2015 and September 2016, King won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie for American Crime. In 2018, she played the role of the mother of a murdered black teenager in Netflix original seriesSeven 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 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In July 2019, it was announced King would direct One Night in Miami based upon the play of the same name. Principal photography began in January 2020, with Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree, Aldis Hodge and Leslie Odom Jr. starring in the film. It will premier at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival.
Personal life
In 1997, King married Ian Alexander, but they divorced in 2007. They have one son, Ian Alexander Jr., born January 19, 1996. King dated actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner from 2011 until March 2013.
