Regina King is an American film and television actress. She was born January 15, 1971.  She is best known for her role as Mary Jenkins’s (played by Marla Gibbs) studious daughter, Brenda Jenkins, on the 1980s sitcom, 227 and for her critically acclaimed supporting role in the feature film Jerry Maguire.

King was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Gloria, a special education teacher, and Thomas King, an electrician. The two divorced in 1979. She is the older sister of actress Reina King. Regina and Reina mean "queen” in Italian/Latin and Spanish, respectively. King attended Westchester High School and the University of Southern California.

Soon thereafter she played Will Smith’s wife in the spy thriller Enemy of the State, and was also featured in How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Disney’s remake Mighty Joe Young. She continued playing feature roles in a variety of films, including Down to Earth, with Chris Rock, Daddy Day Care with Golden Globe winner Eddie Murphy, Legally blond Red, White & Blonde with Reese Witherspoon and Sally Field, and A Cinderella Story, with Hilary Duff and Jennifer Coolidge.

Regina King was a vocal and prominent supporter of Barack Obama in his campaign for election to the United States presidency. She travelled across Ohio, prior to the Ohio primary, stumping for Senator Obama. She has been quoted as saying, "So it’s just a very grass roots way to get the word out. And you know it’s how Obama started his campaign and that’s how he’s been winning the last few primaries, by not forgetting about the so-called little people.”

King married Ian Alexander, Sr., on April 23, 1997. Their son, Ian Alexander, Jr., was born on January 19, 1996. King filed for divorce from Alexander on November 8, 2006, citing physical abuse, drug use, and extramarital affairs.

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