Taraji Penda Henson Bio
Taraji Penda Henson, born September 11, 1970, is an American actress recognized for her dynamic performances across film and television. Her accolades include a Golden Globe Award, alongside nominations for an Academy Award, multiple Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. Time magazine has twice named Henson among the 100 most influential people in the world, first in 2016 and again in 2024. Her career spans more than two decades, marked by memorable roles in both independent films and major studio productions.
Henson gained widespread recognition for her portrayal of Cookie Lyon in the Fox drama series Empire, a role that earned her critical acclaim and numerous award nominations. Her film work includes significant performances in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Hidden Figures, and Hustle & Flow. Beyond acting, she has authored a New York Times bestselling autobiography and established a foundation dedicated to mental health awareness in the African American community.
Early Life and Background
Taraji Penda Henson was born on September 11, 1970, in Southeast Washington, D.C. Her parents are Bernice Henson, a corporate manager at Woodward & Lothrop, and Boris Lawrence Henson, who worked as a janitor and metal fabricator. Henson was raised Catholic and has often spoken about the influence of her maternal grandmother, Patsy Ballard, who supported her throughout her career and accompanied her to the Academy Awards when she received her nomination.
Her first and middle names derive from Swahili origins, with Taraji meaning hope and Penda meaning love. Henson graduated from Oxon Hill High School in Oxon Hill, Maryland, in 1988. Following high school, she attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where she initially planned to study electrical engineering before deciding to pursue her passion for drama. She later transferred to Howard University to study acting.
During her college years, Henson worked multiple jobs to support her education, including mornings as a secretary at The Pentagon and evenings as a singing-dancing waitress on the Spirit of Washington dinner-cruise ship. This early exposure to performance and her determination to succeed in the entertainment industry laid the groundwork for her future career in Hollywood.
Path to Acting
Henson received her Screen Actors Guild membership card in the early 1990s after working as a background performer in three different productions. Her first prominent role came in 2001 when she was cast as Yvette in the comedy-drama film Baby Boy, starring alongside singer Tyrese Gibson. This role marked her entry into mainstream film and established her as a promising talent in the industry.
In 2005, Henson secured a breakthrough role in the independent film Hustle & Flow, where she portrayed Shug, the love interest of the main character played by Terrence Howard. This performance brought Henson significant attention and showcased her ability to convey depth and emotion in complex roles. Her work in the film also led to her singing debut, as she provided vocals for the Academy Award-winning song It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp.
Henson continued to build her career with guest appearances on several television series, including The WB’s Smart Guy, Fox’s House, and CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. These television roles, combined with her growing film resume, helped establish her versatility as an actress capable of excelling across different media formats.
Taraji Penda Henson Career
Early Career (1997-2014)
Henson’s film career gained momentum in the mid-2000s with several notable roles. In 2008, she appeared alongside Brad Pitt in David Fincher’s drama film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, where she played Queenie, Benjamin’s mother figure. Henson described the character as the embodiment of unconditional love, and her performance earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. This nomination marked a significant milestone in her career and brought her to the attention of a broader audience.
During this period, Henson also appeared in Tyler Perry films The Family That Preys and I Can Do Bad All By Myself. In 2010, she starred in the remake of The Karate Kid with Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. The film received mixed reviews but achieved commercial success. Her television work during these years included recurring roles on The Division, Boston Legal, and a starring role as Joss Carter in the CBS crime-suspense series Person of Interest from 2011 to 2013.
Breakthrough (2015-Present)
In 2015, Henson was cast as Cookie Lyon in the Fox musical drama series Empire, a role that would become her most iconic television performance. The series follows a family in the hip-hop recording industry, with Henson playing the fierce and formidable matriarch. Empire debuted in January 2015 to positive critical reviews and strong ratings. For her performance, Henson won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series Drama in 2016, becoming only the third African American actress to win in this category.
Her work on Empire also earned her multiple Primetime Emmy Award nominations and made her the first African American woman to win the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series. The role brought Henson widespread recognition and established her as one of the most powerful actresses in television. She starred on Empire until 2020, becoming the face of the series and delivering what many critics considered her defining television performance.
Notable Works and Milestones
In 2016, Henson portrayed mathematician Katherine Johnson in the critically acclaimed film Hidden Figures, a major box-office success that told the story of African American women mathematicians at NASA. The film received three Academy Award nominations and won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Henson’s other notable films include Think Like a Man, Acrimony, What Men Want, The Best of Enemies, and The Color Purple in 2023. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2019 and has continued to take on diverse and challenging roles across film and television.
Taraji Penda Henson Award Nominations
Taraji Penda Henson has received numerous award nominations throughout her career, recognizing her exceptional talent and contributions to film and television. She earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in 2008. Henson has also received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations for various roles, including Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Empire and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story.
Taraji Penda Henson Awards Won
Henson has won several prestigious awards throughout her career. In 2016, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series Drama for her portrayal of Cookie Lyon in Empire. That same year, she also won the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series, becoming the first African American actress in the award’s history to achieve this honor. Additionally, she won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture in 2017 for her work in Hidden Figures.
| Award | Wins | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Golden Globe Award | 1 | 2016 |
| Critics’ Choice Television Award | 1 | 2016 |
| Screen Actors Guild Award | 1 | 2017 |
Taraji Penda Henson Family
Taraji Penda Henson is the daughter of Bernice Henson and Boris Lawrence Henson, who raised her in Washington, D.C. She has often credited her family’s support as instrumental to her success. Henson named her foundation, The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, after her father in honor of his influence on her life. The foundation focuses on mental health awareness and support within the African American community.
Personal Life
Henson gave birth to her son, Marcell, in 1994. His father, William LaMarr Johnson, was Henson’s high school sweetheart and was murdered in 2003. Henson was engaged to former NFL player Kelvin Hayden from 2018 until their engagement ended in 2020. She is a Christian and has described acting as a spiritual experience. In 2016, Henson published her autobiography, Around the Way Girl, which became a New York Times bestseller and detailed her journey from Washington, D.C. to Hollywood stardom.
