Source: ShotBySed / ShotBySed
From her years in the OMG Girlz and on BET’s Tiny and Toya to being an actress and reality star on T.I. & Tiny: Friend & Family Hustle, Reginae Carter has grown up before the public eye. Though the daughter of hip-hop superstar Lil’ Wayne, Reginae has made it her mission to come from under the shadow of her parents and into her own spotlight. After starring in Lifetime’s Pride & Prejudice: Atlanta as Lydia and TV One’s Dear Santa, Reginae is successfully carving her own niche in entertainment as an actress and everyone’s TikTok bestie during quarantine.
I caught up with Reginae to chat about her Savage x FENTY ambassadorship, self-love and body positivity, and her personal style and brand. As she’s evolved from tween to young adult, Reginae has left the title of “Lil’ Wayne’s daughter” behind and constructed a brand of her own from the ground up – but who said it would be easy?
“I sat down with my manager and my mom, and I told them, ‘I want to act and I want to do something that’s gonna take me out of that’,” she says.
“My dad does music and my mother is into fashion, does reality and she wrote books. They have that lane, but with acting, I feel like that’s my own lane and I push that so much.” After landing two movie roles, BET talk show appearance and shooting pilots, the budding actress is showing her skills on and off-air and allowing people to get to know her as her.
“I always used to tell my mama and my daddy, ‘I know y’all are my parents and stuff, but I can’t wait until people say ‘Reginae Carter.'”
While being around such prominent figures in the entertainment, music and fashion, growing up hip-hop (pun intended), has influenced Reginae’s personal style. “I’ve been around hip-hop a lot and growing up around me, it’s [become] part of me. It’s something that as soon as I opened my eyes, I was accustomed to.”
She adds, “It’s my style, my wardrobe, the music that I listen to, the respect that I have for it. It’s all because I’ve seen my dad work his behind off and be part of hip-hop, so it’s part of me, too.”
Even with hip-hop being a huge chunk of her style influence, she pays homage to this style queen for her primary style inspo. “I love Rihanna’s style because it’s edgy, her own style and she goes with the flow however her mood. Her style is always matching her whole persona,” she gushes. “She continues to list her mother as a style icon as she reminisced on watching her get dressed and borrowing pieces out of her closet.
Speaking of RiRi, Reginae was recently tapped as a Savage X ambassador for Rihanna’s Savage X FENTY lingerie line, joining the ranks with Normani, Christina Milian, B. Simone, and Jess Hilarious. In a recent PageSix feature, Reginae revealed that she wasn’t always comfortable wearing super sexy skivvies, but she has grown to become more comfortable as a campaign ambassador in the public eye.
As a young Black woman, especially one who just so happens to be a celebrity child, it can be a bit intimidating to put yourself out there as a rising self-love and body positivity icon. Despite any negative backlash or shocking remarks, the reality television personality rose to the occasion and secured the bag by being comfortable in her own skin. “It boosted my confidence a lot, but I’ve always had security about myself. I’ve always been comfortable within, but that was definitely different for me and I was a little nervous when it first came up,” she admits.
“I never really posted in nothing [like that]. I’ll probably post a bathing suit or something,” she laughed. “When I first started, I was picking stuff that’s more like PJ sets or robes, but then it was like, ‘listen, I’m 21, I’m gonna do it very tasteful, keep it classy, but I can show off a little something. I always keep it classy and I always get good feedback on that. Even though I am showing off a lot of skin, I keep it classy”.
As young women in a digital age, we’ve all been subjected to imposter syndrome at some point or another – comparing ourselves to which influencers are where and what has the most likes. The 21-year-old actress has always had a self-confidence and badass aura that was never boastful, but reassuring and well-respected.
“Ever since I was young, my dad always made sure he told me that I was beautiful. He’s always complimenting me [and] my mother always told me the same, so growing up I’ve always had the confidence of, ‘yes, I’m pretty’. I’ve always felt that about myself,” she explains.
She gives thanks to her parents for instilling a sense of beauty and confidence in her from a young age, which later translated into self-love that will oftentimes take young women years to build on their own. When it comes to the idea of comparing herself to others, Reginae says focusing on what she does or doesn’t have has never been a concern nor an issue for her.
“That’s never been a problem with me. I’ve always been very confident in myself and I really feel like it’s because of my parents. They’ve always boosted me up and made me feel beautiful within so I just grew up feeling it and wearing it. I am beautiful and I am a beautiful, Black young woman,” as she wears her confidence proudly.
For some women, self-confidence isn’t always as present as one would hope, but Reginae has just the words of wisdom. “Just be comfortable in your skin and love yourself. Only you can be the judge of yourself. If you feel as though you want to alter your body in any way, make it something that you want to do,” she shares as she sheds light on peer pressure and self-love to any woman reading who may be struggling with negative body images or lack of self-love.
“Be the own judge of your own body and make sure that you’re positive with whatever you’re doing.”
Her confidence also shows on social media, where she takes to creating TikTok videos of Bad Girls Club throwbacks and recreating J. Lo’s Superbowl performance. She also looks absolutely fit and fabulous while doing it. When it comes to keeping quarantine fashion cute and cozy versus beat to the nines, the social media influencer admits that she’s the friend that dresses up for a run-of-the-mill errand to the store or at the mall. “I still try to keep it cute at home and I may get my hair done, but I’ve been really serious that my glam [team] has to wear masks and I only have my certain glam,” she stresses the importance of health while bringing people into her home. ”I still want to be cute, but I’ll have my cozy moments where I have pajamas on.”
When HelloBeautiful asked about her fitness regimen, the TikTok fave admits that she had a workout routine when quarantine first started, but after a while, she has switched over to waist training and a healthier diet.
She continues to tell HelloBeautiful that though she’s about to call on her trainer to start working out again, her primary focus has been on better eating habits. “I don’t really eat that good, so I’ve been trying to eat better and get better with my health.” Her daily routine now consists of “drinking water, praying, and minding my business,” and we can all cheers to that.
As the interview came to a close, we had to get the tea on this season of Family & Friends Hustle. We watch her blossom into her 20s as she ends her toxic relationship and shifts her focus to further elevating her acting career. “You’re going to see me grow. Last year, I went through a lot and you’ll see the things that I went through, how I overcame it, and how I became a better person, how I got more spiritually involved within myself, she tells HelloBeautiful about her on-screen self-love journey.
To watch Reginae grow, catch her on T.I. & Tiny: Friends & Family Hustle, which airs on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. EST on VH1.
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