How happy was Regina King to win her second NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series for the TNT hit Southland? Looking fabulous in a strapless Enzoani mini, her smile said it all. “It feels great to win,” she said. “The awesome thing about it is the company I was in. Jada [Pinkett Smith], Chandra [Wilson]—just amazing, strong actresses. It makes it even more fantastic.” 

While awaiting confirmation on the likely renewal of Southland, King plans to direct her first feature. “There’s a book called Let the Church Say Amen by Reshonda Tate Billingsley that I want to do,” she said, noting that she will only be behind the scenes. “I’m smart enough not to do both. I’m not ready for that yet,” she added, laughing.

Movies, television and directing require a single mother like Regina King to stay healthy. “I want to be here for a long time and enjoy life in my golden years,” she says. “That is the first thing that motivates me. I keep my gym bag in my car, and when I feel like I want to go to McDonald’s, I go to the gym. I hike my dog. It’s not easy, but I enjoy the results and I enjoy not having to watch what I eat all the time.”

Regina, who turned 40 in January, is just getting started, and her to-do list is long. “There are so many things that I haven’t done yet that I want to do. I would love to be recognized and remembered as a great actress, as a philanthropist that did a lot of work with young girls, girls that I’ve seen become incredible women.” Her greatest hope: “That I am the mother of a young man that has made the world better.”

Photo:  Kevin Winter/Getty Images