Reina and Regina King unveil ‘Shirley’ at star-studded premiere

The John Ridley-directed film about Shirley Chisolm debuts March 22 on Netflix.

Mar 21, 2024

All eyes were on Reina and Regina King at the premiere of ‘Shirley’ at Hollywood’s Egyptian Theater on Tuesday night.

'Shirley' Los Angeles Premiere — Reina King, John Ridley, and Regina King attend Netflix’s ‘Shirley’ Los Angeles Premiere at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on March 19, 2024, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix) – Credit: Photo byCharley Gallay / Getty Images for Netflix

Netflix hosted the star-studded event that brought out tons of industry insiders clamoring to see the highly-anticipated film about Shirley Chisolm. Guests were treated to delicious appetizers, sweet treats, and cocktails as they mingled ahead of the premiere.

Notable attendees included Niecy Nash-Betts and her wife, Jessica Betts; Lena Waithe, Cynthia Erivo, Tabitha Brown, Gia Peppers, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, and Sylvia Obell, to name a few.

“Shirley” tells the story of the first Black congresswoman and political icon, Shirley Chisholm, and her trailblazing run for president of the U.S. It chronicles her audacious, boundary-breaking 1972 presidential campaign.

The film is executive produced by real-life sisters Regina and Reina King, who happen to play sisters on the screen as well. To call this film a labor of love would be the understatement of the century, considering it took the ladies 15 years to get it financed and produced.

Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix's "Shirley" — Michael Cherrie, W. Earl Brown, Brad James, Regina King, Christina Jackson, Reina King, Lucas Hedges, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Dorian Missick attend the Los Angeles Premiere of Netflix’s “Shirley” at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on March 19, 2024, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images) – Credit: Photo byAmy Sussman / Getty Images

John Ridley expressed his admiration for both King sisters when he introduced the film he wrote and directed to a packed house full of Regina’s friends and former collaborators like Yahya Abdul-Mateen, Jeymes Samuel, and Vivica A. Fox.

“I want to say something about the sisters together. I have known them almost exactly 10 years now. In that time, they were already working as hard as they possibly could as individuals to bring this story to life. Their take on Shirley has always been about representing her as a whole person, as a human, as an individual,” he said as they joined him onstage,” he said.

“We all know how challenging it is to do the work. But it’s even more challenging when you want to do good work and maintain good relationships with people. It’s even more challenging when you need to maintain good relationships because the person you’re doing the work for is your sister,” Ridley added.

“Shirley” is the first film Regina King has starred in since losing her son, Ian, to suicide in 2022. Before she left the stage, she took time to dedicate the film to him.