Regina King Says Her Late Son Will ‘Never Be Forgotten’

Regina King carries on the legacy of her late son, Ian Alexander Jr., three years after his death from suicide.

The Academy Award winner was interviewed for the August issue of Haute Living, where she discussed her son being the inspiration for her new wine brand and which moments of his life she’d “freeze-frame.”

King told the publication that during a two-month break that she had after filming the 2021 Western drama The Harder They Fall, she and Ian spent time together in New Mexico. “We would cook together, he would write music, and time slowed down a bit,” the Caught Stealing actress said. “It was nice not to always have a meeting or a call; the stillness wasn’t a bad thing.”

King added that being in New Mexico with Ian was one of two moments that she’d return to if given the chance. “I know it sounds so terrible, but if I’m being completely honest, it’d be a month there — where Ian was writing so much of his music, that last bit of his music, and I was editing One Night in Miami… and some other things that I want to save for me.”

The actress would also go back to the 1996 birth of her son.

“And then I’d also freeze-frame the first month of Ian’s life, because I was no longer a home: I was a mom,” she continued. “It was life-changing; it was a feeling I’d never had before in my life. I’ve never felt anything close to it… until he no longer wanted to be here anymore.”

King continues to honor her son’s life with her wine brand MianU, just years after Ian introduced her to orange wine. “It was kind of an epiphany I had,” she said, “that came from a place of continuing to create memories in Ian’s spirit. I’m still here, on this plane, separate from him, and I’m surrounded by people talking about their children — engagements, weddings, new chapters — [while mine is gone].”

“I still love talking about Ian: I just don’t have the chance to create new memories in the way they do. But I’m not focused on that. This is my way of creating something new, together.”

The actress added that she thinks of her late son “24/7” and “can see his face” with the help of the wine’s name and logo, which features Ian’s handwriting. And for people who never got the chance to dance with Ian, maybe they’ll be curious. “Maybe they’ll ask. His name is right there, in the middle of it all. He’ll never be forgotten,” she said. “If you see me, you see Ian.”

Earlier this month, King told Parade that she often combs through Ian’s journal entries and saw a written ‘M’ that she incorporated into the MianU logo.

“It is something that I know he’d brag about,” she told the publication.