REGINA’S HOLLYWOOD SUCCESS

THE WINNER OF FOUR EMMYS AND AN OSCAR JUST DIRECTED HER FIRST FILM AND IS LOVING EVERY MINUTE OF BEING ON TOP

When Regina King was cast in a starring role on the 1980s sitcom 227 at the age of 14, her mother made sure of one thing. “My mum told NBC that if I was going to play Brenda, I wasn’t going to one of those Hollywood private schools. I was staying in public school,” she recalls.

In hindsight, King, 49, says she’s grateful her mother, Gloria, a special education teacher, made that decision. “It was instrumental in me becoming a person who can find balance on shaky ground. It’s not an easy thing, living your life on display, and it’s particularly hard when you’re young,” she says. “But participating in those social situations as a teen gave me an understanding to how different people can be, which has been very helpful when navigating Hollywood.”

King has since managed to successfully steer her career from child actor to Oscar winner and is now, just a year before turning 50, at the top of her game. She’s receiving rave reviews for her film directorial debut, One Night in Miami, a fictionalised account of a true event that occurred on February 25, 1964, when Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) beat boxing world champ Sonny Liston at the Miami Beach Convention Center and spent the evening celebrating with football star Jim Brown, singer Sam Cooke and activist Malcolm X.

In the film, based on Kemp Powers’ 2013 stage play of the same name, the four icons discuss their experience as Black men in America and what roles they were playing in the civil rights movement. King says she’s grateful

King with her son Ian, a DJ. “My son is an amazing young man,” King has gushed.

“I know that I work hard,” says King, who has been acting for over 30 years – and has multiple accolades to show for it.

“I like pretty heels and fabulous dresses,” says King (holding her Oscar in 2019) of getting glam for red carpet events. She says being nominated is always “fun and much appreciated”.

King recently won an Emmy for her role as Angela Abar, aka Sister Night, on the series Watchmen.