Regina King was honored at this year’s ESSENCE Black Women In Hollywood awards event in Los Angeles. The phenomenal actress, whose career in film and television has spanned over two decades, walked the red carpet with grace and style as she prepared to accept the honor. ESSENCE.com chatted with King about her impressive career and how she has remained so humble despite her success.
King shared what it is like to be acknowledged at an event dedicated to honoring Black women in the business and how much the people who attend mean to her. “This luncheon is an opportunity for us to love on each other and celebrate each other, so to be in a room filled with women who look like me, that have loved me for years and who inspire me to dream bigger is pretty special,” said King, 44.
King, who received the Fierce & Fearless Award, tells ESSENCE that no matter how far she has come in Hollywood, there will always be room for growth. “I have learned that there is beauty in always learning,” says King. “There is freedom in admitting when you’re wrong. I hope that I’ll continue learning until the day I die, and that when I take my last breath, a lesson was learned right before it. You can learn from anyone from the smallest of children to your grandmother. There is something you can get out of every single relationship. Always be open.”
Although King has appeared on countless television series, she revealed that her bond with the former cast of Southland is a unique one: “Southland was just an experience within itself that created a family, from the crew to the cast, and we are still connected like that,” she said. “That was a special time in life for me.”
Although for many fans, King’s breakout role as Brenda on 227 will always be their favorite, King believes her voice-over work on The Boondocks will continue to be one of her most memorable roles.
“I think that [Riley] is everyone’s favorite, even if they don’t admit it,” King confesses. “Everyone has a little Riley in them.”
While walking the red carpet ESSENCE Editor In Chief Vanessa K. De Luca touched on how deserving King is of the award: “She has had a legendary career, both in front of the cameras and behind the scenes. She has had staying power in a very tough industry, and let’s be honest, that’s not easy for Black women to do.”