Regina Taylor(I)
- Actress
- Writer
- Director
While TV audiences best remember Regina Taylor for her empathetic
portrayal of housekeeper Lilly Harper in the critically lauded series
I'll Fly Away (1991), which rewarded her with a Golden Globe for best actress, an
NAACP Image Award, and two Emmy nominations, this Dallas-born talent
has made even greater strides in recent years as a playwright.
Born on August 22, 1960, Regina was raised in Oklahoma where she became acutely
aware of racial bias while attending a newly integrated school in
Muskogee. She went on to study at Southern Methodist University and
graduated in 1981, subsequently moving to New York. She made her
professional acting debut in the CBS made-for-TV movie Crisis at Central High (1981).
On Broadway Taylor became the first Black woman to play William Shakespeare's
Juliet thanks to the non-traditional casting efforts of Joseph Papp. She
also played Cecilia in "As You Like It" and the First Witch in
"Macbeth" during the same season. Other on- and off-Broadway work
included "Machinal," "A Map of the World," "The Illusion," and "Jar the
Floor." On the West Coast, she won an L.A. Dramalogue award for her
work in "The Tempest."
Making her film debut with Lean on Me (1989), she became
known for her quiet intensity and human dignity in both social drama
and the more popular action-oriented films such as Losing Isaiah (1995), Clockers (1995),
Spirit Lost (1996), and The Negotiator (1998).
Taylor furthered her career on TV as well in such series as Law & Order (1990) and
earned notice for her portrayal of Anita Hill opposite Delroy Lindo's
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in the made-for-TV movie Strange Justice (1999).
She was particularly moving in her portrayal of another maid in the
superlative period piece Cora Unashamed (2000), co-starring the equally versatile
Cherry Jones. After her breakout success in I'll Fly Away (1991), she moved into other series such as Feds (1997), The Education of Max Bickford (2001) starring Rory Robert Knepp and Dig (2015), although they were not as well received. She also appeared as a guest on "Grey's Anatomy," "Elementary," The Blacklist," "The Good Fight," "The Red Line" and "Lovecraft Country."
As a playwright Taylor has won the American Critics' Association new
play award for "Oo-Bla-Dee," which detailed the story of Black female
jazz musicians of the 1940s. "Drowning Crow" was an adaption of
Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull," which made it to Broadway in 2004. Others
works include "A Night in Tunisia," "Escape from Paradise," "Watermelon
Rinds," and "Inside the Belly of the Beast." She conceived and appeared
in the 2001 one-woman play "Millennium Mambo," which included
selections of works from various African American female writers. She
is an esteemed member and Artistic Associate of the Goodman Theater,
where many of her plays have come to fruition.
portrayal of housekeeper Lilly Harper in the critically lauded series
I'll Fly Away (1991), which rewarded her with a Golden Globe for best actress, an
NAACP Image Award, and two Emmy nominations, this Dallas-born talent
has made even greater strides in recent years as a playwright.
Born on August 22, 1960, Regina was raised in Oklahoma where she became acutely
aware of racial bias while attending a newly integrated school in
Muskogee. She went on to study at Southern Methodist University and
graduated in 1981, subsequently moving to New York. She made her
professional acting debut in the CBS made-for-TV movie Crisis at Central High (1981).
On Broadway Taylor became the first Black woman to play William Shakespeare's
Juliet thanks to the non-traditional casting efforts of Joseph Papp. She
also played Cecilia in "As You Like It" and the First Witch in
"Macbeth" during the same season. Other on- and off-Broadway work
included "Machinal," "A Map of the World," "The Illusion," and "Jar the
Floor." On the West Coast, she won an L.A. Dramalogue award for her
work in "The Tempest."
Making her film debut with Lean on Me (1989), she became
known for her quiet intensity and human dignity in both social drama
and the more popular action-oriented films such as Losing Isaiah (1995), Clockers (1995),
Spirit Lost (1996), and The Negotiator (1998).
Taylor furthered her career on TV as well in such series as Law & Order (1990) and
earned notice for her portrayal of Anita Hill opposite Delroy Lindo's
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in the made-for-TV movie Strange Justice (1999).
She was particularly moving in her portrayal of another maid in the
superlative period piece Cora Unashamed (2000), co-starring the equally versatile
Cherry Jones. After her breakout success in I'll Fly Away (1991), she moved into other series such as Feds (1997), The Education of Max Bickford (2001) starring Rory Robert Knepp and Dig (2015), although they were not as well received. She also appeared as a guest on "Grey's Anatomy," "Elementary," The Blacklist," "The Good Fight," "The Red Line" and "Lovecraft Country."
As a playwright Taylor has won the American Critics' Association new
play award for "Oo-Bla-Dee," which detailed the story of Black female
jazz musicians of the 1940s. "Drowning Crow" was an adaption of
Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull," which made it to Broadway in 2004. Others
works include "A Night in Tunisia," "Escape from Paradise," "Watermelon
Rinds," and "Inside the Belly of the Beast." She conceived and appeared
in the 2001 one-woman play "Millennium Mambo," which included
selections of works from various African American female writers. She
is an esteemed member and Artistic Associate of the Goodman Theater,
where many of her plays have come to fruition.