Regina Lee Hall (born December 12, 1970) is an American actress. She gained prominence for her portrayal of Brenda Meeks in the comedy-horror Scary Movie film series. She has worked in film and television. In 2018, Hall became the first African-American to win the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film Support the Girls.
Hall made her film debut in The Best Man (1999) and reprised her role in its sequel The Best Man Holiday (2014). Her film credits include Love & Basketball (2000), Think Like a Man (2012) and its sequel Think Like a Man Too (2014), Girls Trip (2017), The Hate U Give (2018), and One Battle After Another (2025). On television, she has starred in the comedy-drama series Ally McBeal (2001–2002), NBC police procedural Law & Order: LA (2010–2011), the comedy series Black Monday (2019–2021), and appeared as Ninny in Issa Rae's Insecure (2017).
Early life Hall's father Odie Hall was a contractor and electrician, her mother Ruby a teacher. After graduating from Immaculata High School, Hall enrolled at Fordham University in the Bronx, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications in 1992. She enrolled at New York University, where she earned a master's degree in journalism in 1997. Reflecting on college, Hall said: "I loved being a student. I could've gone to school until I was 75 years old as long as somebody would've paid my rent. I would've been a professional student."
She wanted a career with impact and envisioned a career in writing or journalism, but Hall's first semester of graduate school changed drastically when her father died of a stroke. She began a career in the entertainment industry, starting off with a guest appearance on Sadat X's 1996 album Wild Cowboys on the track, "The Interview".
Career
In 1997, Hall appeared in her first television commercial at the age of 26. Her television career began with a role on the soap opera Loving, and guest appearances on the Fox police drama New York Undercover. She played Candy in the 1999 film The Best Man. Hall reflected: "It was my very first movie. I met Sanaa Lathan on it, and we did Love and Basketball together, which was my second film. And then, at that point, I was visiting L.A. to stay and it led to a third film and a fourth film. And it was really a big deal because I'd never been on a set before."
Hall gained more recognition with her role in the comedy-horror-spoof Scary Movie (and the sequels Scary Movie 2, Scary Movie 3, and Scary Movie 4) portraying the sex-crazed Brenda Meeks, and the TV movie Disappearing Acts. The Scary Movie films are some of her best known roles. In 2001, Hall landed the role of Coretta Lipp on the prime-time drama Ally McBeal, which was originally a recurring role over several episodes but was made a main character in the fifth season of the show. A year later, she starred in the action-drama Paid in Full, a film directed by Charles Stone III. She has appeared in leading roles in films such as Malibu's Most Wanted, King's Ransom and The Honeymooners.
She appeared in the film Law Abiding Citizen in 2009. She had a role in the 2010 Danneel Harris and Arielle Kebbel film Mardi Gras. From its fall 2010 debut until a series overhaul in January 2011, Regina Hall portrayed Deputy District Attorney Evelyn Price on Law & Order: LA.
In 2012, she portrayed Candace Hall in Steve Harvey's movie Think Like a Man, a romantic comedy based on his book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. Hall reprised her role as Candace Sparks in The Best Man Holiday in 2013. She believed the characters had evolved from the first film. Hall felt The Best Man Holiday was different from any sequel she had ever done before since it was not "immediate" and it had been fourteen years since the release of the original. Hall felt the first film had "the joy of the wedding" and in the sequel "they come together for the holidays, but it's deeper than that. This one's definitely different, but we still laughed. There was so much laughter behind the scenes." Hall joked about how all of the male members of the cast were married while all of the women were not, stating that Morris Chestnut was happily married while walking around "with his shirt off!"
Hall appeared in the 2014 film About Last Night, co-starring Kevin Hart. She and Hart were seen as the film's highlight as they had a "great dynamic together" and the two were credited with having the funniest lines in the film. All of the cast was seen as having a "perfect mix of charisma and likability". Jessica Herndon of the Associated Press stated "Hart and Hall are the best part of this film. They play the couple you know all too well: fiery, able to press one another's buttons and always caught in the makeup to breakup game." Negative reviews of the film also praised the pairing of Hall with Kevin Hart. Mick LaSalle of The San Francisco Chronicle expressed that Hart was "well paired for Hall, who matches him for comedy." At the time of the film's release, both Hall and Hart expressed interest in working on other projects together. About Last Night was her third ensemble film and Hall reflected that she learned from actors she worked with in ensembles.
Hall reprised her role as Candace Hall in Think Like a Man Too. In July 2014, it was announced Hall would star in a Lifetime film, entitled With This Ring, with Eve and Jill Scott.
In the 2015 film People Places Things, Hall had a major role as the love interest of a newly divorced man. In 2016, Hall was in Barbershop: The Next Cut. She played the role of Angie, one of the hair stylists, alongside Ice Cube, Common, and Eve. In 2017, Hall co-starred in the comedy film Girls Trip, which became a critical and commercial success. In 2018, Hall was part of the ensemble cast of the drama film The Hate U Give, based on the 2017 novel The Hate U Give.
Hall had the lead in Support the Girls, a film directed by Andrew Bujalski. For the latter, she received critical praise, and was nominated for several awards, winning the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress. She is the first African-American to win the award. That same year she was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 2019, Hall hosted the 2019 BET Awards.
In October 2020, she signed a first-look deal with Showtime. Under the pact, Hall will develop and produce television projects via her production company, RH Negative. A mere months later, her company signed a six-film deal with ViacomCBS.
She cohosted the 94th Academy Awards with Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes on March 27, 2022.
In October 2024, Hall inked a first-look deal with MGM Alternative, the division of Amazon MGM Studios. Under the agreement, Hall and her team will develop and produce original unscripted true crime, ensemble docuseries and game genres.
In 2019, Hall received an honorary doctorate degree from Dillard University. Furthermore, in May 2025, she received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from her alma mater, Fordham University. This honor from Fordham University recognized her exceptional acting career and unwavering commitment to social justice.
In 2025, Hall appeared in the Paul Thomas Anderson epic action thriller film One Battle After Another as the character Deandra.
Personal life Around 2004, Hall's mother was diagnosed with scleroderma, a rare autoimmune disease.
Hall announced in November 2010 that she would be writing for Ability.Regina Hall on the Mo'Nique Show ABILITY Magazine, November 2010
In 2010, when she was 40, Hall unsuccessfully tried to become a Catholic nun after a bad break-up, having previously wanted to become one at the age of 14. In the former case, she was refused for being too old, as the cut-off age was 39 for that order.
In 2014, she signed as an ambassador for Elizabeth Taylor's White Diamonds.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 1999 Candace "Candy" Sparks 2000 Love & Basketball Lena Wright Scary Movie Brenda Meeks 2001 Scary Movie 2 2002 The Other Brother Vicki Paid in Full Keisha 2003 Malibu's Most Wanted Shondra Scary Movie 3 Brenda Meeks 2005 King's Ransom Peaches Clarke Trixie Norton Six Months Later Keri Short 2006 Scary Movie 4 Brenda Meeks Danika Evelyn Susan 2008 First Sunday Omunique Superhero Movie Mrs. Xavier 2009 Law Abiding Citizen Kelly Rice 2010 Death at a Funeral Michelle Barnes 2011 Mardi Gras: Spring Break Ann Marie 2012 Think Like a Man Candace Hall 2013 Candace "Candy" Sparks 2014 About Last Night Joan Derrickson Think Like a Man Too Candace Hall 2015 People Places Things Diane Vacation Nancy Peterson 2016 Barbershop: The Next Cut Angie When the Bough Breaks Laura Taylor 2017 Girls Trip Ryan Pierce Naked Megan Swope 2018 Support the Girls Lisa Conroy Tijuana Jackson: Purpose Over Prison Cheryl Wagner Lisa Carter Let's Dance Woman on Bed Short2019 Little Jordan Sanders Also executive producer Shaft Maya Babanikos 2021 Breaking News in Yuba County Ramirez 2022 Master Gail Bishop Also executive producer Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. Trinitie ChildsAlso producer Me Time Maya 2025 O'Dessa Neon Dion One Battle After Another Deandra The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants Barb (voice)2026 The Sheep Detectives Cloud (voice) Scary Movie Brenda Meeks Post-production Filming
Television
Year Title Role Notes 1994 Loving Roberta Recurring cast 1997 New York Undercover Tammy Episode: "No Place Like Hell" 2000 NYPD Blue Sharice Warner Episode: "Little Abner" Disappearing Acts Portia TV movie 2001–2002 Ally McBeal Corretta Lipp Recurring cast (season 4); main cast (season 5) 2010–2011 Law & Order: Los Angeles Deputy D.A. Evelyn Price Recurring cast 2013 Second Generation Wayans Regina Recurring cast 2014 Married Roxanne Recurring cast (season 1) 2014–2015 Real Husbands of Hollywood Herself Recurring cast (season 3); guest (season 4) 2015 With This Ring Trista TV movie Key & Peele Wife #1 Episode: "Airplane Showdown" 2016 Grandfathered Catherine Sanders Recurring cast Uncle Buck Jackie King Episode: "Pilot" Crushed Celia TV movie Lip Sync Battle Herself Episode: "Lupita Nyong'o vs. Regina Hall" 2016–2017 Black-ish Vivian 3 episodes 2017 Insecure Ninny Recurring cast (season 2) 2017–2018 The Gong Show Herself (guest judge) 3 episodes 2019 BET Awards 2019 Herself (host) TV special 2019–2021 Black Monday Dawn Darcy Main cast; also producer 2021 Nine Perfect Strangers Carmel Schneider Main cast2022 94th Academy Awards Herself (co-host) TV special The Best Man: The Final Chapters Candace "Candy" Sparks-Murchison Main cast 2026–present The Five-Star Weekend Dru-Ann Jones Main cast Poppy Main cast
Awards and nominations