Kim Fields drew on style of Indiana women for her 'Upshaws' character

Kim Fields is home. Sort of.

She’s not a Hoosier. But she plays one on TV, starring alongside Naptown native Mike Epps in the Indianapolis-set “The Upshaws” on Netflix.

The actress and director, 54, is in Indianapolis – for the first time, she believes – to speak at Fall Fest 2023 and Slammin’s Ryhmes Challenge XVII, taking place Nov. 18 from noon to 4 p.m. at Central Library, 40 E. St. Clair St. It’s a program from the Indianapolis Public Library’s African-American History Committee, supporting the Center for Black Literature & Culture.

The free Saturday event will also feature performances by Naptown Stomp Swing Dancers, The Magic Comic – Jamal Keyes, Phoenix Rising Youth Company, poet Tony Styxx, and dancer Robert Burden Jr. During the program, the winning entries will be presented from the rhymes challenge, a contest for poets, rappers and spoken word artists in middle and high school.

For the challenge participants and the overall fest, the committee annually taps a seeker to offer insight and inspiration.

“We look for positive role models,” said Cordia Watkins, circulation manager at The Indianapolis Public Library.

For generations, Fields has been that. In the role of Tootie on “The Facts of Life," Fields was a rarity upon the sitcom’s debut in 1979, a Black girl in a main cast on a network TV.

Then in the '90s, she was the image-conscious Regine Hunter on the “Living Single” among a sextet of young Black professionals in New York.

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Since 2021, she’s starred as the trivia showdown-loving matriarch Regina Upshaw on “The Upshaws” sitcom. Her character, having recently suffered a heart attack, has a lot going on – as a healthcare professional dedicated to her family, including a husband who stole her money and had a child with another woman during their marriage.

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“I've been very, very blessed with the characters that I’ve portrayed and am portraying,” Fields said after speaking to a group of local students Friday. “Not just TV shows or series, but there's a relatability that I always try to bring to the characters in the interaction that I have with other people or situations and circumstances.”

She gets it honestly. Her mom, actress Chip Fields, is etched in the memory of many a Gen Xer for her turn as the abusive mother of Penny on “Good Times." Chip Fields also produces the current Nickelodeon series “Tyler Perry’s Young Dylan.” Meanwhile, younger sister Alexis Fields played the bestie of Tia and Tamera on “Sister, Sister,” and is currently a recurring character on “All American.”

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IndyStar spoke with Fields about being in show business for 46 years, got the tea about her entrepreneurial efforts and learned how the style of Indiana women influenced her look on “The Upshaws.”

Indiana women inspired Regina Upshaw’s style

“Because she worked in hospital administration before we started filming, I researched women in Indiana who were in the hospital administration space,” she said. “I said to Regina Hicks, the creator along with Wanda Sykes and Mike Epps, ‘I think that Regina should have braids because that’s what I’ve seen on a lot of Facebook groups and pictures of women from Indiana.’”

She looks for fresh characters

“Really since 2016, the main objective and the goal has been to look at what haven't I done; and only go into uncharted waters,” Fields said. “With ‘The Upshaws,’ even though I've done comedies and sitcoms, and multi-camera, I had not played a Regina Upshaw before. And I felt like it was definitely a must.”

Her favorite roles include a journalist

“Certainly, Regina Upshaw is a favorite, with just the layers and the complexities,” Fields said. “I have certain things in common with Regina Upshaw from the standpoint of when you look at going and going and going and going and going; when you want so much for your family and you’re doing things like that and you’re sometimes feeling unseen, so I understand a lot of that.

“But with ‘Living Single,’ Regine was very, very much a favorite because she's so different from me. I mean, greatly different. So, definitely there was a true sense of acting," she said. “I understood the insecurities that she had. Where we would differ was in that she would work from the outside in — ‘Let me get the exterior together, and we'll just deal with the interior later.’

“My other favorite character is the one I co-created for my rom-com film 'Adventures in Christmasing.' I played a woman who was a journalist who goes on this adventure show set during the holidays. That character was incredible for me because it was coming out of my comfort zone.”

She’s now selling coffee, tea and wellness

Fields started a wellness platform, Refresh by KF, during the pandemic.

“The increased awareness of mental health and self care became far more prevalent during COVID and quarantine. But also I just wasn't finding platforms and narratives and influencers that spoke to me in this space; that inspired me in this space,” she said. “And my mom always said, ‘If you don't see it, then maybe it's on you to do it."'

Refresh has its inaugural retreat next month in Stone Mountain, Georgia.

It’s a follow up to Signature Blends by KF, the coffee and tea company she launched in 2017.

“I didn't set out to be one of the few women in the space — it's a very male-dominated industry — but I just love being a part of someone's day or afternoon or night, the way that my characters have been for over 40 years,” Fields said. "Each blend, each roast is one of my characters. I curate them the way that I curate my characters.”

Fall Fest 2023 and Slammin’s Ryhmes Challenge XVII will place Saturday, Nov. 18 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Central Library, 40 E. St. Clair St. Admission is free.

Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cheryl.jackson@indystar.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X.com: @cherylvjackson.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Kim Fields talks long career, tea and Hoosier style in her TV role