Taraji P. Henson

Taraji Penda Henson is an American actress, producer, author, and mental health advocate. She has earned widespread recognition for her work across film, television, and theater, receiving a Golden Globe Award alongside nominations for an Academy Award, six Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2016 and 2024, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Henson was born on September 11, 1970, in Southeast Washington, D.C. She graduated from Oxon Hill High School in 1988 and initially studied electrical engineering at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University before transferring to Howard University to study drama. To finance her education, she worked as a secretary at The Pentagon and as a performing waitress on a dinner-cruise ship.

After making her film debut in Streetwise (1998), Henson gained prominent roles in Baby Boy (2001) and Hustle & Flow (2005). Her performance as Queenie in David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She went on to appear in major films such as The Karate Kid (2010), Think Like a Man (2012), Hidden Figures (2016), Acrimony (2018), What Men Want (2019), The Best of Enemies (2019), and the musical film adaptation of The Color Purple (2023).

In television, Henson co-starred as Joss Carter in the CBS series Person of Interest from 2011 to 2013. From 2015 to 2020, she starred as Cookie Lyon in the Fox drama series Empire, winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama and securing two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Her other Emmy-nominated performances include the television film Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story (2011) and a guest appearance on Abbott Elementary (2023). She has also hosted the talk show Peace of Mind with Taraji and performed in special television productions such as Annie Live!

Beyond acting, Henson published a New York Times best-selling autobiography, Around the Way Girl, in 2016. She founded The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, named after her father, to address cultural mental health issues. In 2019, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in 2022, she was appointed to the President's Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.