Regina Rene King (born January 15, 1971, in Los Angeles, California) is an acclaimed American actress, director, and producer whose career spans four decades and encompasses iconic work in both television and film.

King first gained attention as a teenager starring on the sitcom 227 (1985–1990) and transitioned into film with early roles in John Singleton’s Boyz n the Hood (1991) and Poetic Justice (1993), before earning wider mainstream notice in Jerry Maguire (1996), How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), and Enemy of the State (1998). She became a familiar presence across genres with parts in comedies like Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003) and Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005) and through her long‑running voice work on The Boondocks (2005–2014). On television, King’s dramatic range showed in series such as Southland (2009–2013), Shameless (2014), The Leftovers (2015–2017), and earned critical acclaim and two Primetime Emmy Awards for her work on American Crime (2015–2017). Her powerful turn in the Netflix miniseries Seven Seconds (2018) garnered her another Emmy, followed by a fourth for her lead performance in HBO’s Watchmen (2019). King’s film career reached new heights with her Oscar and Golden Globe–winning performance in Barry Jenkins’s If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), and she continued her film success with notable roles in The Harder They Fall (2021).

Transitioning behind the camera, King made her feature directorial debut with One Night in Miami… (2020), which earned widespread acclaim. In 2024 she starred as civil rights trailblazer Shirley Chisholm in the biographical drama Shirley and continued her dramatic film presence with a leading role in Darren Aronofsky’s crime thriller Caught Stealing (2025). Beyond acting, she has continued to build her directorial and producing portfolio with projects in development, affirming her status as one of Hollywood’s most respected and versatile artists.