Regina Hall has a masters in journalism and was a professor before acting

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First of all, it didn’t occur to me that Regina Hall was old enough to have an entire career before she became an actress because she’s been famous for so long. She’s older than I thought though, I thought she was about 40 but she’s 48. Her career really took off around 1999, when she starred in Love and Basketball and then the Scary Movie franchise in the early 2000s. It turns out that Regina has a masters degree in journalism from NYU and was a professor before she switched careers to focus on acting. The last time I covered her she was telling a sketchy story about her mom overdosing on her late dog’s marijuana oil so this is a nice change of pace.

Regina was on Late Night with Seth Meyers to promote her role in Little (which I’ve heard so many good things about, I need to see that before it leaves theaters). Her main story was about Tyra Banks calling security on her after Regina tried contacting Tyra in a hotel where they were staying. That was cute but this part was more interesting to me.

You went to NYU and got a masters in journalism and then you taught college in New Rochelle. How were you as a teacher?
I thought I was good. I was strict because I was young. That particular campus was for students who were coming back to school so we were all similar age. I wore a headwrap because I thought it made me look [academic] It didn’t at all, it just made me look like a woman in a headwrap.

After your life in academia you were in New York trying to make it as an actor. Did you have bad NY apartments over the years?
My roommate and I had an apartment that a crime, I think a murder had taken place in. But we only stayed there three days we broke the lease. [They left] the yellow tape. I said ‘I don’t know what happened, but yellow tape is not good.’ When we looked at it [the first time] it was fine ,it was the moving in, there was a crime scene.

Do you think the time when you first looked at it to when you moved in that’s when the crime happened?
Yeah I do. We wanted to get it so fast because the rate was so good. But we moved after about three days.

[From Late Night]

Like Regina I have a creepy apartment story from college! My roommate, who was my best friend, and I got evicted from our first-ever apartment for throwing parties, which turned out to be a good thing because we also had a peeping tom coming to the windows at night. We didn’t see him, but we noticed a chair had been pulled under my bedroom window. He was arrested for spying on the women in the neighborhood and he ended up being a convicted rapist, which I only heard about after we left. So while we were not happy to get kicked out, it ended up being for the best.

As for Regina, I’ve always liked her and I enjoy covering her interviews because she’s funny and interesting. I love that she almost had a career in academia but ended up pursuing her dream of being an actress. In 2014, she told Time that she decided to finish graduate school after her father passed away. (I’m getting this from her Wiki page I’m not going to lie.) She said losing him “started me thinking about what I really wanted to do in life. And I know my father would have wanted me to finish school. So I did that.”

Here’s her interview!

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photos credit: WENN

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17 Responses to “Regina Hall has a masters in journalism and was a professor before acting”

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  1. LoonyTunes says:

    Gabrielle Union would’ve made a better grown up Jordan, casting wise (same coloring and dimples).

  2. launicaangelina says:

    Wow! I had no idea she was 48. She looks great.

  3. Renee2 says:

    48????? 48!!!!!!!!??? I cannot believe how young this woman looks!!!!! Her skin is amazing!!! She is older than me by 4 years but looks 10 years younger at the very least.

  4. Flying fish says:

    Impressive woman.

  5. Pineapple says:

    Impressive!! I love that she wore a headscarf to “seem” academic when she taught. I love hearing about successful people’s insecurities. It is so nice to know we all have them. XO

  6. Snowflake says:

    Good for her. I want to see that movie, it looks funny af

  7. Toot says:

    Glad she went for acting, she’s funny.

  8. Lana234 says:

    I love her I need to go see Little.

  9. Onemoretime says:

    Saw Little this week end and it was cute and funny from start to finish. I have always been a fan of Regina, she is so under rated as an actress and a comedian. She can die funny and serious very well. She was the best part of the Scary Movie franchise. I saw her interview on Kimmell where she said she got mistaken for Regina King but was fine with it and was happy for King winning the Oscar.
    My mind is blown that she was a professor, she so silly but I guess that’s just her public persona.

  10. Esmom says:

    Kudos to her for pursuing her true passion. I have a friend who started acting in her mid-40s after a long career in advertising. So far she’s only had very small parts but she is thrilled. She’s not really expecting stardom to come out of it.

  11. Nicegirl says:

    Awesome game ReginaHall ftw

  12. lucy2 says:

    Wow, I thought she was early to mid 30s!
    I like her, glad to see her getting some good roles. I want to see the one she did last year, Support the Girls.

  13. Iknow says:

    Regina was also in The Best Man as Candy! Loved her.

  14. me says:

    Anyone know at which college she taught (curious local here)?

  15. stephanie says:

    My sister and I snuck off and watched Little yesterday, we laughed the whole time. Regina was SO funny as the monster boss. I love Marsai the most and was surprised to find out she was an executive producer.

    We loved it!

  16. Mar says:

    I always enjoy her movies!

  17. Dee Kay says:

    Regina Hall is my new favorite actress. Loved her in Girls’ Trip and then I saw her in Black Monday (with Don Cheadle) and in Support the Girls (great indie film). She was hilarious and serious and real and moving in all of them, as very different characters. She can do every kind of role and is a superstar talent-wise. I am a huge huge fan.