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. In 2019, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
King first gained attention for playing Brenda Jenkins in the television series 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 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).
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). She earned critical acclaim for her performance in Barry Jenkins's film adaptation of the James Baldwin novel If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), earning the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has since starred in the western The Harder They Fall (2021)
King has 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. Her feature film directorial debut came with the drama One Night in Miami... (2020), for which she was nominated 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 to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Director.
Early life and education
King was born 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 (née 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 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.
