Taraji P. Henson

American artist Taraji Penda Henson was born on September 11, 1970. Henson, who performs in both acting and music, started his career as a guest actor in the television world. After appearing in various TV series during this period, he strengthened his place on the big screen with the 2001 movie Baby Boy.

Henson, who made a name for herself with the movie Hustle & Flow in 2005, was deemed worthy of the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Queenie in David Fincher's movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in 2008. With this success, he became a well-known name in the international arena.

Henson, whose television career is also quite colorful, met the audience in series such as The Division, Boston Legal and Eli Stone. Between 2011 and 2013, she played the role of Detective Jocelyn Carter in the TV series Person of Interest. Today, she appears on the screens as Cookie Lyon in FOX's phenomenon series Empire.

Henson, who also had a successful education life, continued his education at the University of North Carolina after graduating from Oxon Hill High School. To pay for her education, she worked as a secretary at the Pentagon, and at night, she performed in various venues as a singer and dancer. He studied acting at Howard University and thus took an important step towards realizing his dreams.

Taraji Penda Henson was born on September 11, 1970 in Washington, D.C. She followed her passion for the arts and studied theater arts at the prestigious Howard University in Washington. Henson, who gave birth to her son Marcell during her university years, moved to Los Angeles with her son in the 90s to realize her acting dreams.

While she worked various jobs to make ends meet early in her career, she also broke into the industry by making guest appearances on television series such as "Sister, Sister" and "ER."

However, her breakout role that introduced her to the world of cinema was the character of Yvette in the movie "Ghetto Storm" (Baby Boy) (2001), directed by John Singleton. Henson, who attracted attention with his strong performance in this film, won critical acclaim for his role as Shug in the 2005 film "Hustle & Flow".

With this role, he made a name for himself not only with his acting, but also by performing the song "It's Hard out Here for a Pimp", which he sang for the movie and won an Oscar, on stage at the Academy Awards ceremony. One of the most important turning points in his career was "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (2008), directed by David Fincher.

She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Queenie in this film, solidifying her place on Hollywood's A-list.

However, the production that turned Taraji P. Henson into a global phenomenon and brought her the most iconic character of her career was the series "Empire", which aired between 2015 and 2020. The dominant, intelligent and stylish Cookie Lyon character she portrayed in the series became one of the unforgettable ones in television history, and she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in 2016 with this performance.

While "Empire" continued, she also proved her leading role power with her role as Katherine G. Johnson in the blockbuster "Hidden Figures" (2016), which told the true story of NASA's black female mathematicians.

Henson, who has continued his diversity in recent years by voicing in thrillers such as "Acrimony" (2018) and animations such as "Ralph and the Internet" (2018), once again received acclaim for his character Shug Avery in the 2023 musical film "The Color Purple". In addition to acting, she published a memoir titled "Around the Way Girl" in 2016.

He also actively works to raise awareness of mental health, especially in the African-American community, by establishing the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, named after his father.

Productions in which he took part

He took part in a total of 136 productions; 12 of the most well-known are listed.

• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015) — Self - Guest
• Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (2009) — Self - Guest
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (2014)
• The Late Late Show with James Corden (2015)
• The Simpsons (1989) — Praline (voice)
• Late Night with Seth Meyers (2014) — Self - Guest
• The Kelly Clarkson Show (2019)
• The Daily Show (1996)
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000) — Christina
• The View (1997)
• Saturday Night Live (1975) — Self - Host
• House, M.D. (2004) — Moira

Production and imprint information was taken from TMDB.