by Ian Alexander Jr., the only daughter of award-winning actress Regina King, committed suicide at the age of 26, a family spokeswoman said on Saturday. “Our family is deeply saddened by the loss of the sheep,” a spokesperson for the King family said in a statement. “He is a bright light who cares deeply about the happiness of others.”
A family requested “to be treated with courtesy in this private time”. Details were not disclosed.
Jan Alexander Jr., who turned 26 on January 19, was a musician and DJ who frequently attended awards and celebrity events with his mother. His father, record producer Ian Alexander Sr., had been married to King for 10 years before divorced in 2007. It ranks 10th in the U.S. death rate for 25-34 year-olds and for adults in the U.S.
On New Year’s Eve, King appeared on CNN’s New Year’s Eve live with his son, telling hosts Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen that his family will be celebrating 2022 together.
King and her son described their close relationship in an interview. In 2019 Jan Alexander Jr. E! News from the Golden Globes that King was a “super mom” who didn’t let her work stress get between them. “It’s really nice to have a mom who likes to spend time together,” he said.
King told Vulture in 2015 that her relationship with her son is more important than starring. “I miss his life,” she said, revealing that the couple had the same tattoo in Aramaic.
“He is huge from elbow to wrist.” She added that the phrase means “unconditional love.” King laughed, remembering her son who said in an interview, “No mom, you can’t get that size!” King’s matching tattoo is smaller and is on his forearm. An Oscar and four Emmy winner, King has appeared in many films, including The Harder They Fall and Seven Seconds.
King won an Emmy for her role in the crime series Seven Seconds, which premiered on Netflix in 2018. King plays the mother of a black teenager who is murdered by a white police officer. The king said to E! News, she “didn’t dare” to play the role.
King pointed to Ian Alexander Jr. standing next to him on the red carpet, and it was “terrifying” to play the role of a mother who lost a child, saying that her son “made her the happiest person in the world.”
She said this weekend “It was my own fear to be in a place in my life I never wanted to go,” he said in a clip that went viral on social media.
“Prayer for Regina King. She now needs all the grace and light that can flow in her path,” tweeted Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr.
. “I lift and support you. . I love @ReginaKing and I’m so sorry,” wrote actress Viola Davis.
Octavia Spencer, Janet Jackson and Missy Elliott also offered prayers and support to King via social media, while others described Ian Alexander Jr. as “sweet and talented.” I remember him as a “person”.
