Regina King

Regina King, With her everyday beauty and winning personality, actress Regina King could have made a career out of playing wives of leading men Eddie Murphy, Will Smith and Cuba Gooding Jr., as she did in films like “Daddy Day Care” (2003), “Enemy of the State” (1998) and “Jerry Maguire” (1996). But her talents and outsized personality were destined to break out sooner or later. And sure enough, King stole the show from her leading ladies with memorable supporting roles in “Legally Blond 2” (2003) and “Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Dangerous” (2005). But it was her turn as R&B legend Ray Charles’ backup singer and lover, Margie Hendricks, in the acclaimed “Ray” (2005) that earned the actress considerable praise and recognition, leading to higher profile work and a regular role on the sixth season of “24” (Fox, 2001- ).

Born Jan. 15, 1971, King grew up in Los Angeles, CA, where she would later say that she did not find stardom – stardom found her. Certain that performing was her future, King took acting lessons as a child from coach Betty Bridges, mother of “Diff’rent Strokes” star Todd Bridges. By the time she was a teenager, she landed a role in the saucy sitcom “227” (NBC, 1985-1990), playing Brenda, daughter of series lead Marla Gibbs. After graduating from Westchester High School in 1988, she enrolled at the University of Southern California, before making the leap to more mature roles with parts in “Boyz in the Hood” (1991) and “Poetic Justice” (1993). She appeared in guest starring roles on “Northern Exposure” (CBS, 1990-95), “New York Undercover” (Fox, 1994-98) and the sitcom “Living Single” (Fox, 1993-98), then later appeared in “High Learning” (1995) as well as the cult comedy hit, “Friday” (1995).

After playing the girlfriend of Martin Lawrence in “A Thin Line Between Love and Hate” (1996), she moved on to a breakout role as the wife of Cuba Gooding Jr. in the 1996 smash hit, “Jerry Maguire.” With her memorable scolding look at her son for using a profanity while watching a football game, the part captured the attention of mainstream audiences and put King squarely on the map. She went on to appear as the wife of Will Smith in the action thriller, “Enemy of the State” (1998), then took roles in “How Stella Got Her Groove Back” (1998) and “Mighty Joe Young” (1998). On television, she appeared in “Where the Truth Lies” (Lifetime, 1999) and “If These Walls Could Talk 2” (HBO, 2000), before landing a regular role on the short-lived sitcom, “Leap of Faith” (NBC, 2002).

King continued her steady climb up the Hollywood food chain move with a series of supporting roles in blockbusters such as “Daddy Day Care,” (2003) playing the wife of star Eddie Murphy, and in “Legally Blonde 2: Red White and Blonde,” (2003) in the part of Grace, the whip-smart chief of staff to Congresswoman Sally Field and arch rival of bubbly, pink-loving law school grad, Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon). King next had a memorable comedic turn as a feisty FBI agent in the surprise hit sequel, “Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Dangerous” (2005), opposite Sandra Bullock. The two took pride in performing many of their own stunts, though King suffered a twisted ankle during a climactic fight scene after tripping over her own wig.

It was during the shooting of “Miss Congeniality” that King heard the news that she won the role of Margie Hendricks, mistress and backup singer for Ray Charles (Jaime Foxx), in Taylor Hackford’s biopic, “Ray.” Excited by the meaty role, which she insisted upon playing over the role of Charles’ wife, Della Bea Robinson (Kerry Washington), King set out to learn as much as she could about the real-life “Raelette,” who only appeared in a handful of film clips and photographs. King relied heavily on word-of-mouth accounts and information director Taylor Hackford gleaned from Charles himself before his passing just prior to the movie’s release. King was recognized for her stellar performance with Image and BET awards.

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Regina King was first posted on December 16, 2009 at 10:57 pm.