Everything we know about Rege-Jean Page’s parents

Rege-Jean Page is a British-Zimbabwean actor who came to international fame for his portrayal of Simon Basset in Bridgerton. The 2020 Netflix series has received widespread praise for its direction and acting. Page announced himself as a future star following his portrayal of Chicken George in the 2016 miniseries Roots. 

Page sharpened his acting skills as a theatre actor, appearing in The Merchant of Venice and The History Boys before venturing into on-screen roles. After impressing in roots, Page joined the cast in the Shonda Rhimes-inspired legal series For the People. In 2020, Shonda and Jean triumphantly reunited to create Bridgerton. 

This piece will look at Rege-Jean Page’s parents.

Rege-Jean Page was born in 1990 in Harare, Zimbabwe. He was the second child of four siblings. Page’s Zimbabwean mother was a nurse, and his English father was a preacher. Growing up as a mixed-race child in Harare exposed Page to racial inequality at a young age. He talked to Interview Magazine about an early instance of inequality:

“You learn how you act associates you with certain groups. I remember there was a really nice nursery school fairly close to us; my mum took me along and there wasn’t enough room, and then my dad took me along and there was enough room.”

Page understood that it was important for him to craft his identity early on. However, post-colonial Zimbabwe didn’t provide the best environment for a mixed-raced boy to figure himself out. It also didn’t help that the fledgling country felt the effects of decisions made many miles away. He explained:

“I learned from the age of three that I was a walking political statement. Just by walking around with my face, I was saying, ‘My parents did a fairly revolutionary thing that pisses of some of you.’ You are also not at the center of the universe in Zimbabwe, so you watch these important places like London or New York and make their decisions and you ride the ripples of that.”

Rege’s acting career started after he moved to the UK at the age of 14. His parents took him to Saturday school for dancing and acting because of his loud-attention-seeking attitude. “It’s basically childcare – ‘Get my loud, attention-seeking child out of my hair for three hours,’ Page told Interview Magazine. 

“I was loud and attention-seeking enough that they put me on their agency on the side.” As a teenager, he formed a punk-rock group with his brother because ‘the idea of running around, screaming at people’ appealed to him. “I found comfort in aggression, in breaking through false walls and challenging norms,” he told The Fall Mag. 

Page added that his experience as a punk-rock musician helped change his perspective of the entertainment industry. He said: “I realized that a career in the arts was actually about having the people and community to support you making your art.”