Step aside, Angelina Jolie. Regina King has officially become the queen of the leg slit.
The If Beale Street Could Talk star looked stunning in a white Oscar de la Renta strapless gown at the 2019 Oscars and she chose that designer for a very specific reason. "I just felt like this film is about the fabric of America—the pieces, the threads of America—and Oscar de la Renta is an American designer, and I just felt it was appropriate," she explained to Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet.
Jolie basically broke the Internet (and TV screens) in 2012 when she arrived alongside Brad Pitt at the 2012 Oscars in a black Atelier Versace gown that showed off most of her right leg. In fact, she became even more of an icon that night because her leg-forward pose became known as "The Angelina."
King gave her best "Angelina" pose on the carpet but made it her own, too.
King chatted with Seacrest before the show and talked about being nominated for her first ever Oscar. King is nominated alongside Amy Adams, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz and Marina De Tavira in the Best Actress in a Supporting Role category.
It turns out that she almost didn't accept the role to play Sharon Rivers in the nominated film.
"I can't say that I didn't ever expect to ever be at the Oscars, but to be at the Oscars representing James Baldwin is mind-blowing," she told Seacrest.
King explained that she first learned about the role while directing an episode of This Is Us, but she had apparently just told her agent she "didn't want to play a mother for a while." But it was the fact that it was a Barry Jenkins adaptation of a James Baldwin story that inspired her to accept it.
King has been sweeping awards season and taking the big and small screens by storm. She won her first Golden Globe this year and made a powerful speech about female presence in the film industry.
"So often, everyone out there, they hear us on the red carpet, and they say us celebrities, we're using the time to talk about ourselves when we're on the soapbox and using a moment to talk about the systemic things that are going on in life. Time's Up X2. The reason why we do this is that we understand that our microphones are big and we are speaking for everyone," King said during her acceptance speech.
She continued, "And I just want to say that I'm going to use my platform right now to say in the next to years, everything I produce, I am making a vow—and it's going to be tough—to make sure that everything that I produce, it's 50 percent women. And I just challenge anyone out there who is in a position of power, not just in our industry, in all industries—I challenge you to challenge yourselves and stand with us in solidarity and do the same."
Barry Jenkins echoed King's call for equality during his acceptance speech at the 2019 Independent Spirit Awards, where she also took home the award for Best Supporting Female.
Congratulations on the nomination, Regina!
Stay up-to-date with the entire list of Oscars winners here.