NAACP Image Awards: 10 Times Regina Hall Nailed It In Hollywood
Regina Hall skyrocketed to fame after landing her first big break as the sexy stripper Candy in the classic romcom The Best Man, released in 1999. Since then, she has become a star who knows how to mix it up between drama and humor. Her character Brenda Meeks in the Scary Movie franchise highlights her versatility, which became apparent in her first television role as Coretta Lipp in Ally McBeal. She sizzled in The Best Man Holiday and Steve Harvey's Think Like a Man and as the leading lady in the 2014 Valentine's flick About Last Night, opposite Kevin Hart.
Hall, 50, a native of Washington, D.C., earned a master's degree in journalism from New York University in 1997 after graduating from Fordham University in 1992. Even though she arrived relatively late to the acting game, beginning with commercials at the age of 26, she has made an indelible mark on the big screen.
Not only is she a 2021 nominee for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress In A Comedy Series, she broke records when she became the first African-American woman to win Best Actress by the New York Film Critics Circle for her role in Support the Girls, released in 2018. She served as an executive producer of Little for Universal and appears in Showtime's Black Monday, the Warner Bros. film SHAFT, released in 2019.
Before pursuing an acting career, she once worked as a waitress at a "Twin Peaks" restaurant, and also worked for a time as a dental assistant, according to IMDB.
Here are 10 times Regina Hall touched our hearts with her performance:
‘LITTLE’
The film, released in 2019, is the story of a cold-blooded tech executive Jordan Sanders (Hall) whose world is turned upside down when she wakes up as a pre-teen version of herself, barking out orders and operating as an all-around master of inconsideration. Hall nailed it in this role as she kept viewers laughing out loud in the film that she executive produced alongside then-14-year-old Marsai Martin. Marsai, who also had a role, became the youngest executive producer in Hollywood history, making her way to the pages of the Guiness Book of World Records. Check out the funny clip below.
‘THE HATE YOU GIVE’
Although fans have come to expect Hall to set it off in a comedy, she can also deliver in dramas. In 2018, she took on the poignant role of the mother of Starr Carte (Amandla Stenberg), a teen dealing with personal and public trauma after witnessing the police-involved shooting death of her childhood friend. Hall gave an emotional performance for the film that is based on the New York Times bestseller by Angie Thomas. Directed by George Tillman, Jr., and also stars Russell Hornsby, Issa Rae, KJ Apa, Algee Smith, Sabrina Carpenter, Common and Anthony Mackie. Check out the trailer below:
‘SUPPORT THE GIRLS’
Hall broke records when she was named the first African-American woman to win Best Actress by the New York Film Critics Circle for her role in Support the Girls, which was released in 2018. “Hall portrays Lisa, an ever-positive—but overworked—general manager at small town sports bar Double Whammies. The film follows a tumultuous day-in-the life of Lisa and the characters that maker her life...difficult, to say the least,” writes Oprah magazine.
‘GIRLS TRIP’
In this hilarious 2017 release, Hall played her part to perfection in this R-rated comedy as Ryan Pierce, a successful lifestyle guru who is in a failing marriage. She was joined by Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Tiffany Haddish in an epic "no boys allowed" — of sorts — adventure through Essence Festival. The film also scored an "A" on CinemaScore and an 89 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Check out the hilarious trailer below:
‘WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS'
Who doesn’t love a good suspense film? Hall killed it in this 2016 remake of When The Bough Breaks. She plays a convincing role as Laura, one-half of an incredibly successful couple that's struggling to have a baby. Morris Chestnut stars in the role of her husband. But the couple finds hope in a young, seemingly innocent young woman who agrees to be their surrogate. But when the woman turns out to be a psychopath, Laura turns out to be not so helpless. Check out the trailer below:
‘BARBERSHOP: THE NEXT CUT’
In her 2016 debut in the popular Barbershop franchise, Hall slays it in her role as Angie, the co-runner of Calvin's (Ice Cube) Chicago barbershop, “which now shares space with a beauty salon. With the merge, a battle of the sexes ensues while they simultaneously attempt to save their shop from gang violence,” writes Oprah magazine. Check out the funny trailer below:
‘THINK LIKE A MAN TOO’
Hall is part of an all star ensemble cast in this sequel to 2012's Think Like A Man, which was adapted from Steve Harvey's 2009 book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. Hall is hilarious in the role of Candace when the group of dysfunctional men and women meet up in Las Vegas to celebrate her marriage to Michael (Terrence J). But each couple's relationship nearly comes to an end amid misunderstandings during the supposedly care-free weekend in Sin City. Kevin Hart, Michael Ealy, Gabrielle Union, Taraji P. Henson, and Meagan Good also star in the film.
‘THE BEST MAN HOLIDAY’
This is a follow-up to 1999's romantic drama The Best Man in which Hall only played a small but noteworthy role as Candy, the wife of Murch (Harrold Perrineau), in this must-watch in Black cinema. The story follows writer Harper Stewart (Taye Diggs), whose latest book is inspired by the adventures of his close friends and tensions flare when a copy gets leaked just before a wedding they all attend. The Best Man Holiday, released in 2013, sees Hall showcasing her acting skills once again in her reprisal of Candy in the story that follows the nine friends as they gather for the first time in 14 years. But conflict in their personal lives threatens to break their bond. Tragedy, however, brings them together.
‘LOVE & BASKETBALL’
Hall became a hot commodity as a lead actress and a skilled producer after her supporting role as Lena Wright, Monica’s sister in Love & Basketball, which was released in 2000. The film once again highlighted Halls’ comedy and dramatic chops. The timeless film follows the story of Quincy McCall (Omar Epps) and Monica Wright (Sanaa Lathan), two next-door neighbors in Los Angeles, California, who are pursuing their respective basketball careers before eventually falling for each other.
DISAPPEARING ACTS
Hall scored big with her supporting role as Portia in Disappearing Acts, a groundbreaking film in 2000 about Black love based on the novel by Terry McMillan. The movie offers “a realistic portrayal of a relationship between a black man and woman struggling to find their place in life separately and together,” according to Variety. The story follows Zora (Sanaa Lathan), a music teacher with ambitions to make it as a singer-songwriter, and Franklin Swift (Wesley Snipes), a construction worker who specializes in restoring brownstones. They find themselves at a crossroads when “Zora periodically finds herself supporting Frankie financially, but it’s just at those times when Frankie feels least supported emotionally,” Variety notes.
Watch the 52nd Annual NAACP awards on BET on Saturday, March 27, 2021 at 8/7C
