Get to Know the 94th Annual Academy Awards Co-host Regina Hall
Veteran actress Regina Hall was recently announced as co-host of the 94th Annual Academy Awards alongside comedians Wanda Sykes and Amy Schumer that airs Sunday (March 27) live from the Dolby Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center.
Hall has had an impressive acting career starring in some of Hollywood’s biggest films, and television shows with appearances in shows like New York Undercover, Ally McBeal, and The Best Man. The actress garnered even a more extensive fan base for her role as Brenda Meeks in the Scary Movie franchise. The D.C. native has since found her way behind the camera co-producing and starring in Showtime's Black Monday. Her production company Rh Negative linked a deal with the cable network and other major movie studios to produce series for MTV and Comedy Central.
Hall is a trailblazer in her industry and whose talent will surely leave viewers entertained at this year’s celebration. Ahead of this year’s award show, here are five things to know about the Oscars co-host.
She wanted to be a journalist before going into acting.
After graduating from Fordham University in Bronx, NY, Hall obtained her master’s degree in journalism from New York University—aspiring to produce for news shows such as 60 minutes. While talking to The FADER, the Scary Movie star revealed that “One of the reasons why I pursued journalism is because I read Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, which weighed heavy on me.” She added, “It talked about the importance of journalism to democracy and the responsibility a journalist had in what they wrote—the truth they uncovered. I thought it was such an honorable profession, and I still do … Democracy is so connected to our press.”
She’s an advocate for people with a rare autoimmune disease
In 2006, Halls’s mother Ruby Hall was diagnosed with scleroderma, a group of rare autoimmune diseases that can affect the skin and cause internal issues. She was put in touch with the late Bob Saget, who served on the Scleroderma Research Foundation’s board of directors, and her advocacy journey began. “Bob had made a television movie about scleroderma years ago because his sister had died from it,” she told Ability Magazine. In 2019, Hall joined the foundation’s board of directors.
Hall was motivated to become an actress after her father’s death
In her cover story for Health Hall said the death of her father Obie Hall, while she was still pursuing her degree at NYU, forced her to rethink her 20s. "It was his passing that really shifted how I looked at life—I realized how brief it can be and how suddenly it can change," Hall explained. "That's what led me to acting. The thing about feeling broken is that it forces you to be open—you feel like you don't have much, so you don't overthink everything."
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She worked both in front and behind the camera lens
Along with giving hilarious performances in films including Little, Girls Trip, and Think Like a Man, Hall is known to be a master behind the scenes, co-producing critically acclaimed like Black Monday.
The multi-talented star also started her own production company, Rh Negative, which signed a first-look deal with Showtime in October 2020. That November, Rh Negative also signed a partnership with the former ViacomCBS, with Hall set to executive produce six TV films for the Paramount Network, MTV, and Comedy Central.
Her resume spans over two decades
Though she’s best known for her portrayal as sex-positive Brenda Meeks in the Scary Movie franchise, she’s also appeared in hit series, including the prime-time drama Ally McBeal and films such as Paid in Full, Law Abiding Citizen, and Think Like a Man.
