Having developed her career in film over three decades, writer/director Regina King has accumulated one of the most impressive credits of any actor currently in the industry. Since her early roles in John Singleton films, she has collaborated with eminent directors like Barry Jenkins, Taylor Hackford, and Cameron Crowe, showcasing her talents in comedies, romances, and even action flicks. The result of her diligent work was awarded an Academy Award for her exceptional performance in the 2018 Barry Jenkins flick If Beale Street Could Talk.
Recently, she starred in Shirley, a biopic that followed Shirley Chisholm’s unsuccessful 1972 presidential run. Critics are complimenting her performance, which makes sense given her prior work. Though many may not recall, King narrowly missed winning an Oscar for her critically praised performance in Tom Cruise’s Jerry Maguire.
She is glad she did not win, despite the opinions of many who believed King should have.
Regina King’s Gratitude for Not Winning the Oscar for Jerry Maguire
Regina King, 53, portrayed Rod Tidwell’s (Cuba Gooding Jr.) wife in this popular 1996 sports-drama-comedy, Jerry Maguire. With a large ensemble cast that included Gooding, Jr., Tom Cruise, Renée Zellweger, the late Kelly Preston, and many more, King proved once again that she could hold her own against the industry’s biggest names.
In an interview with Variety for its 25th anniversary, the Oscar-winning actress discussed her memories of shooting Jerry Maguire. As “the most confident person in the film”, King described her character, Marcee Tidwell. Continuing, she added:
“I felt like, ‘I wish I had her confidence. I wish I had her assuredness.’ You hear that saying: ‘The woman behind the man, the woman is the backbone.’ When I read that script, I felt like that [woman] is the force behind it all.”
King preserved this confidence in this classic movie helmed by Cameron Crowe. In addition, she did not receive any Oscar recognition—not even a nomination, as many people felt she should have received. Regardless, the California native actress-director is glad she had a lot of solid success before winning the Oscar, playing supporting roles in major films. In 2019, she told The Guardian:
“I’ve heard people say, ‘Oh, you were robbed with Jerry Maguire, or Ray.’ But I don’t think I would’ve had an appreciation for the art, in the way I do, if it had happened earlier.”
Instead, Regina was able to continue to grow and evolve as an actress despite not winning the Oscar. She went on to win an Academy Award for her performance in If Beale Street Could Talk and has become a well-known figure in Hollywood.
Regina King Discussed Her Role (Marcee Tidwell) In Tom Cruise’s Flick
Just over 25 years ago, in December 1996, Jerry Maguire made its box office debut, earning $273 million over its run (Box Office Mozo). Marcee is the tough spouse of popular sports agent Jerry Maguire’s (Tom Cruise) client Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.).
Gooding won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar after it was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture. King revealed her feelings upon reading the script, sharing with Variety:
“Marcee’s got it together more than Jerry, more than anybody involved in this entire story,’ so, I just stayed in that place. I’d just become a mother. I was nursing my son on set, so a lot of that was naturally happening within me because Marcee was just having her second child in the film.”
King’s on-screen chemistry with Gooding—with whom she had previously collaborated on 1991’s Boyz n the Hood—was crucial to her performance. As she noted:
“I’m not saying that it didn’t exist — but I hadn’t really, until that role, felt like I had seen a Black couple on TV or in films that were together, fun, and the couple that … if anyone knows Marcee and Rod, they’re inviting them to the party. For us, they were the hero couple and they were the glue.”
Her most recent role was as Shirley Chisholm in the 2024 biographical drama film Shirley, which John Ridley also wrote and directed. As of this writing, Rotten Tomatoes had 71% reviews and an 82% audience score, with many applauding her performance.
Regina King may not have won an Oscar for Jerry Maguire, but in the eyes of her peers and admirers, she’s a winner in every sense of the word.
Shirley is streaming on Netflix, while Jerry Maguire can be rented on Apple TV.
