Regina King is a delight, and has been ever since her television debut in 1985 on the television sitcom 227. King played Brenda Jenkins from 1985 until the show ended in 1990. From there she teamed up with the late director John Singleton for his films Boys n the Hood, Poetic Justice, and Higher Learning. King hit mainstream success in 1996 with her role as Marcee Tidwell, wife of Rod "Show Me the Money" Tidwell in Jerry Maguire.
King is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of Gloria, a special education teacher, and Thomas, an electrician. She graduated from high school in 1988 and headed west to major in communications at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She dropped out after her sophomore year to pursue acting. Of course, by the time she even headed to college, King had already been playing Brenda Jenkins on 227 for three years.
The first Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress came in 2019 for If Beale Street Could Talk. She has won four Primetime Emmy Awards — two for American Crime and one each for Watchmen and Seven Seconds. She has more Emmy Awards than any other Black actor. She was even nominated as a director for her debut, One Night in Miami, and the 'Regina King Oscar snub' went trending after she was refused an Oscar nomination.
Tragically, King lost her only son, Ian Alexander, Jr. to suicide in January 2022; he was just 26-years-old. This has understandably put a halt on any upcoming projects, though she is working on directing a miniseries for Netflix called A Man in Full. Let's take a step back and look at the best roles Regina King has ever acted in.
8 A Cinderella Story
Regina King played the Fairy Godmother character in this retelling of Cinderella starring Hillary Duff, the great Jennifer Coolidge, and Chad Michael Murray. Hillary and Chad's characters fall in love over instant messenger in A Cinderella Story, and Coolidge plays the evil stepmother to comedic perfection. It's a tribute to the strength of King's talent and on-screen charisma that she doesn't get lost against Coolidge's considerable talents. King played Rhona, the owner of the diner Duff's character worked at. Along the way, she encouraged her, stood up for her, and provided interference for Duff when she needed to flee her wicked stepmother.
7 Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous
In Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, Regina King plays FBI agent Sam Fuller, Sandra Bullock's character Gracie's new partner. As Fuller, King's character is a buttoned up, by-the-book agent who is not at all impressed by the beauty queens surrounding her or by Gracie's less than kosher approach to her job. The FBI makes Fuller Gracie's official bodyguard — a fact that doesn't sit well with either of them. The two do end up joining forces to save a beauty queen who has gone missing, proving that two heads, even when they disagree, are better than one. King once again stood out in a cast of comedy heavyweights.
6 Legally Blonde 2: Red White and Blonde
In Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde, Regina King once again faces off against the formidable talent of Jennifer Coolidge as she and Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) head to Washington D.C. on a quest to illegalize testing cosmetics on animals. King plays Grace, the aide to Congresswoman Victoria Rudd, whom Elle is going up against to ban animal testing. While Elle and Grace don't get along at first, they find common ground when Grace discovers Rudd lied to Elle. King holds her own against Witherspoon, Coolidge, and Luke Wilson, proving her comedic chops lie in playing the straight person to goofier characters.
5 Jerry Maguire
Regina King played the wife of Rod Tidwell in this hit comedy from 1996. Starring opposite Cuba Gooding, Jr., Tom Cruise, Renee Zellweger, the late Kelly Preston, and many more, King once again proved she can hang in there with the biggest heavyweights in film amidst a large ensemble. In an interview with Variety, King reminisced on her time filming Jerry Maguire as part of the 25th anniversary celebration of the film. King said her character of Marcee Tidwell was "the most confident person in the film." She said, "I felt like, ‘I wish I had her confidence. I wish I had her assuredness.’ You hear that saying: ‘The woman behind the man, the woman is the backbone.’ When I read that script, I felt like that [woman] is the force behind it all.” Regina King played it that way, and still stands out in this timeless film.
4 Poetic Justice
This 1993 film from the late John Singleton stars Regina King, again alongside some immense heavyweights. The late, legendary hip-hop star Tupac Shakur stars with the iconic singer Janet Jackson in a truly tour-de-force performance as Justice, a Black poet who's mourning the death of her boyfriend to gun violence in South Central Los Angeles. She decides to enlist King, her best friend, on a road trip to Oakland in a mail truck with a postal worker played by Shakur. Initially, they don't get along, but they come to realize just how much they can help each other with their issues, especially Jackson's character's depression. Once again, King, in a very early role in her career, shows she can hold her own and stand out in an ensemble. But what this film really reveals is what a talent the world lost with the death of Shakur.
3 The Leftovers
The Leftovers is, let's face it, a deeply uncool show that is still so bingeable it might as well be the dictionary entry for bingewatch. Regina King deserved much credit than she received playing Erika Murphy in the second and third season of The Leftovers, alongside an ensemble cast that also features Justin Theroux, Carrie Coon, Christopher Eccleston, Amy Brenneman, Liv Tyler, Ann Dowd, and many more. King once again shines as part of an ensemble cast in what many consider one of the greatest shows ever made. The Leftovers takes place in a world where 2% percent of the population has mysteriously disappeared and no one knows why. Does this seem Lost-esque? With good, reason as the series came to HBO via one of Lost's creators, Damon Lindelof. King is arguably the best part of the second season, and is utterly incredible.
2 Ray
In 2004, Regina King played Margie Hendricks in Ray. In real life, Hendricks was an R&B singer and founding member of the Raelettes, the backup singers for Ray Charles, played by Jamie Fox, who won the Oscar for his performance. Charles was also the father of Hendricks's son, Charles Wayne Hendrix. King gave one of the powerful performances she was well known for by this point in time, and she received her first NAACP Image Award and Satellite Award for her performance. King won the BET Award for Best Actress for her outstanding performance, and is the beating emotional heart of Ray.
1 If Beale Street Could Talk
Regina King's performance as Sharon Rivers in If Beale Street Could Talk won her the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. Based on the 1974 novel of the same name by the iconic writer James Baldwin, the film follows a young woman who tries to clear the name of her boyfriend when he is wrongly charged with rape. With the help of her family, she attempts to prove that he's innocent before their child is born. In a stunning performance, Regina King plays the young woman's mother, and proves why she should be a lead protagonist more often rather than a great ensemble player.