Regina Mills

"My life was never just one story. It was many stories. To some, a villain. I hurt people... in ways I can never make up for. To others, I'm... a hero. They've seen my strength, my ability to do the hard things, even when I thought I couldn't. I want to start a new story. One where the Evil Queen doesn't get a part."

- Regina Mills to Snow

Regina Mills is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. She débuts in the first episode of the first season. She is portrayed by starring cast member Lana Parrilla, and is the Storybrooke counterpart of the Evil Queen.

Trivia

 * -|Character Notes=

Etymology

 * The name "Regina" is of Latin origin that means "Queen".
 * The surname "Mills" is of English origin that was an occupational word used for someone living near or working on a mill. It also alludes to the "Rumpelstiltskin" fairytale as her mother Cora was the miller's daughter who could spin straw into gold.
 * Regina is one of the few characters from the first curse who is confirmed to have the same real name in Storybrooke as her Enchanted Forest counterpart; the others being David Nolan, Jefferson and Mother Superior.

Character Notes

 * According to Lana Parrilla, Regina is portrayed as Latina to represent Lana Parrilla's own ethnicity.
 * Her house in Storybrooke is white; complementary to her palace, which is black.
 * The door to her secret collection of human hearts is hidden in her family crypt inside a false tomb dedicated to her father.
 * Initially, Regina retained a small amount of magic via items she carried over from the Enchanted Forest, including her apple tree. After the curse is lifted, all of her powers are restored, and by the third season, she is as powerful as before the curse.
 * Even though she was cursed and adopted many Land Without Magic aspects (like technology, driving cars, or knowing everyone's Storybrooke names), Regina was never a victim of the curse, therefore she can leave the town whenever she wants contrary to other inhabitants, which she did in "Save Henry".
 * Regina named Henry, her adoptive son, Henry Daniel Mills after her deceased father and deceased true love, Daniel.
 * According to Isaac, Regina has "very clear goals, damaged personality and a self-destructive streak"; she is also the villain who gets "screwed over" the most.
 * Unlike Henry, Mary Margaret and Emma, Regina does not like hot cocoa with cinnamon.


 * -|Production Notes=

Production Notes

 * During Season One, crows can often be heard when Regina is around; a conscious decision by the sound designers. For example, when Regina tells Emma to leave town in "Pilot", and when Regina is talking to Sidney in "The Thing You Love Most", crow sounds are heard.


 * -|Cultural References=

Disney

 * In "Ariel", Regina mentions the evil munchkins' dirt road from Oz the Great and Powerful.
 * In "Save Henry", Regina makes a reference to the game Space Paranoids from Tron.
 * The red dress Regina wears in Camelot resembles Mother Gothel from the Disney movie Tangled.
 * According to the Evil Queen, Regina and Henry watched the Star Wars movies together several times.

Lost

 * Regina's house number is 108, a reference to the sum of all the numbers on Lost.
 * Regina offers Devin an Apollo bar, a fictional brand on Lost.

Popular Culture

 * While helping Regina look for the candle, Belle picks up a candelabra. To this, Regina sarcastically calls the latter Liberace; referring to the renowned pianist.
 * Regina gives Henry a set of comics, which includes issues of the Marvel Comics Thor and S.H.I.E.L.D..
 * While spending time with Henry, Regina pretends to read the trade paperback comic book Ultimate Comics: Wolverine: Legacies. She also makes a reference to the main character's trademark adamantium claws, and mentions "purple shorts", a reference to the Hulk, who always wears large purple shorts in the comics.
 * When upset because Emma is planning to get rid of her magic, Regina says that they're "not talking about a pair of old Jimmy Choo shoes".
 * According to Regina, her happy ending "is not a Stephen King book-on-tape".
 * Before the ball at King Arthurs castle, Regina mentions Club Med with her line, "I should be figuring out how to free Merlin, not fox-trotting my way across Club Med-ieval."
 * When Regina summons a cyclone to send her sister back to her homeworld, she refers to Oz as the "somewhere over the rainbow". This is the feature song by Judy Garland from the 1939 The Wizard of Oz film.
 * While they are tracking down Henry, Emma mentions that it was Regina's idea to get food from Hardee's, an American fast food restaurant chain.


 * -|Set Notes=

Props Notes

 * As the Evil Queen, Regina possessed a silver chest, which she has retained in her office in Storybrooke.

Costume Notes

 * The ring Regina wears is a prop specifically hand-picked by Lana Parrilla to help her understand the character she is playing.
 * Regina has a secret room in her mausoleum displaying dresses, mirrors, and jewelry from her time as the Evil Queen.

Appearances
Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage.