Regina Taylor Biography: Ethnicity, Parents, Husband, Awards, Religion, Net Worth, Age

Regina Annette Taylor is an American actress, playwright, director, and educator, widely known for her groundbreaking role as Lilly Harper on the NBC drama I’ll Fly Away, for which she earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Drama.

She is also celebrated for portraying Mattie Michael in the acclaimed miniseries adaptation of The Women of Brewster Place and for her sustained work as a leading voice for African-American theater.

Early Life and Education

Regina Annette Taylor was born on August 22, 1960, in Dallas, Texas, to Nell Taylor, a social worker and poet, and Mr. Taylor. She was raised as an only child.

Taylor graduated from L.G. Pinkston High School in Dallas in 1977 and earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Southern Methodist University in 1981.

She is African-American with Mende roots from Sierra Leone and Kru roots from Liberia, and she practices Christianity.

Career

Regina Annette Taylor began her acting career on stage after graduating from Southern Methodist University, performing in regional theatre productions before moving to New York.

She made her film debut in 1981 with a small role in Catherine Cares and gained early attention for her performance in the 1988 film The Unholy.

Her breakthrough came in 1989 when she portrayed Mattie Michael in the television miniseries The Women of Brewster Place, directed by Oprah Winfrey, which introduced her to a national audience and showcased her dramatic range.

Taylor achieved her most notable mainstream success in 1991 when she was cast as Lilly Harper, the erudite housekeeper and civil rights activist, on NBC’s I’ll Fly Away.

For this role, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Drama in 1993 and received an Emmy nomination.

She also made history in 1995 as the first African-American woman to play Juliet at the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of Romeo and Juliet in Washington, D.C.

As a playwright, she wrote Oo-Bla-Dee, produced Off-Broadway in 2001, and served as the Goodman Theatre’s inaugural ensemble member and artistic affiliate, where she developed and directed numerous original works.

Taylor‘s later career expanded into education and continued playwriting, including The Trinity River Plays and Magnolia.

She served as artistic director for several prestigious theatre initiatives and taught acting and playwriting at institutions such as New York University.

Taylor‘s legacy is defined by her dual impact as a performer and a creator of complex roles for African-American women.

Her sustained influence is visible in the number of playwrights she has mentored and her decades-long commitment to telling stories rooted in the Black experience on both stage and screen.

Social Media

• Instagram Handle: @thereginataylor
• Facebook Handle: @thereginataylor

Personal Life

Regina Annette Taylor married Mario Emes in 1982, and they have remained together. She has no children.

Taylor maintains a relatively private personal life, with no major public scandals or widely reported personal challenges.

She is known for her deep commitment to the arts, her Christian faith, and her advocacy for diverse storytelling in American theatre and television.

Filmography

• Catherine Cares (1981)
• The Unholy (1988)
• The Women of Brewster Place (1989)
• L.A. Law (1990)
• I’ll Fly Away (1991–1993)
• Law & Order (1995)
• The Keeper (1995)
• Courage Under Fire (1996)
• A Family Thing (1996)
• The Negotiator (1998)
• The Unit (2006–2009)
• Love Ranch (2010)
• Being Mary Jane (2014)
• The Good Wife (2015)
• The Americans (2016)
• Random Acts of Flyness (2018)

Net Worth

Regina Taylor has an estimated net worth of approximately $4 million USD, accumulated from her decades-long career as an award-winning television and film actress, her work as a playwright and director in regional and Off-Broadway theatre, and her roles as an educator and artistic affiliate at major institutions such as the Goodman Theatre.