Actress Regina King is moving forward with her leading role in the upcoming Netflix biopic Shirley which tells the story of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black Congresswoman and the first Black woman to run for President of the United States. Production continues for the film despite the fact that King's son, Ian Alexander Jr., died by suicide in January 2022.
Throughout her career, King, who won an Oscar in 2019 for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Beale Street, has also won four Primetime Emmy Awards, the most for an African-American performer. She also won rave reviews when she directed the 2020 film, One Night in Miami, which was released on Amazon Prime.
From the looks of it, Shirley will be yet another successful film for her. This project, however, is being directed by John Ridley and also stars other notable African American actors including Lance Reddick, Terrence Howard, and Amirah Vann.
King began her acting career in the late 1980s on the hit TV sitcom 227. She later went on to star in several popular movies in the 1990s and early 2000s including Boyz n the Hood (1991) with Ice Cube and Morris Chestnut, Poetic Justice (1993) with Tupac Shakur and Janet Jackson, and Ray (2004) with Jamie Foxx.
Follow her on Instagram @IAmReginaKing
