Taraji P. Henson | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Henson in 2016 | |
| Born | Taraji Penda Henson September 11, 1970 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Education | North Carolina A&T State University Howard University (BFA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Full list |
Taraji Penda Henson (/təˈrɑːdʒi/ tə-RAH-jee; born September 11, 1970) is an American actress. She has received several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a Tony Award and six Emmy Awards (including four Primetime Emmy Awards nominations). In 2016 and 2024, Time named Henson one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
After studying acting at Howard University, she made her film debut in the crime film Streetwise (1998). Henson gained recognition for playing a prostitute in Hustle & Flow (2005) and a single mother in David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). The latter earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2016, she portrayed mathematician Katherine Johnson in Hidden Figures.[1] She has also acted in Baby Boy (2001), The Karate Kid (2010), Think Like a Man (2012), Acrimony (2018), What Men Want (2019), The Best of Enemies (2019), and The Color Purple (2023).
Henson has also had an extensive career in television. From 2011 to 2013, she co-starred as Joss Carter in the CBS drama series Person of Interest. From 2015 to 2020, she starred as Cookie Lyon in the Fox drama series Empire, for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama and was nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards in 2015 and 2016. Her other Emmy-nominated roles were for the Lifetime movie Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story (2011) and for her guest role in the ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary (2023).[2]
Henson also released a New York Times best selling autobiography titled Around the Way Girl in 2016.[3] In 2019, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[4][5]
- ^ "SAG Awards 2017: See the Complete Winners List". Vanity Fair. January 29, 2017.
- ^ "Emmys 2011 winners: Full list". Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ^ Around The Way Girl Retrieved March 11, 2016
- ^ Roffman, Marisa (January 28, 2019). "Taraji P. Henson Talks Importance of Being Paid What She 'Deserved' on Road to Walk of Fame Honor". Variety. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
- ^ Piña, Christy (April 2, 2023). "Taraji P. Henson Joins 'Abbott Elementary' in Major Guest Role". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 19, 2023.