Taraji P. Henson: Difference between revisions
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Henson has also been a cast member on several television shows, including [[Lifetime (TV network)|Lifetime]] Television's ''[[The Division]]'' and [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC's]] ''[[Boston Legal]]'' for one season. Her recurring appearances in television include the character Angela Scott on ABC's ''[[Eli Stone]]'' in December 2008. In 2011, Henson was cast in the [[CBS]] crime-suspense series ''[[Person of Interest (TV series)|Person of Interest]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Person of Interest: Cast & Details|url=http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/person-of-interest/cast/319389|work=[[Tvguide]]|accessdate=July 9, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Taraji P. Hanson|url=http://www.buddytv.com/info/taraji-p-henson-info.aspx|publisher=Buddytv|accessdate=February 18, 2015}}</ref> In the ''Person of Interest'' November 20, 2013 episode "The Crossing", after co-starring for two and a half years, Henson's character Carter was killed as part of the series' new storyline direction.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/11/20/person-interest-taraji-p-henson-interview-carter-death/ |title='Person of Interest' midseason shocker: Taraji P. Henson talks Carter's big [SPOILER!] |work=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |first=Marc |last=Snetiker |date= 20 November 2013 |accessdate=December 16, 2013}}</ref> |
Henson has also been a cast member on several television shows, including [[Lifetime (TV network)|Lifetime]] Television's ''[[The Division]]'' and [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC's]] ''[[Boston Legal]]'' for one season. Her recurring appearances in television include the character Angela Scott on ABC's ''[[Eli Stone]]'' in December 2008. In 2011, Henson was cast in the [[CBS]] crime-suspense series ''[[Person of Interest (TV series)|Person of Interest]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Person of Interest: Cast & Details|url=http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/person-of-interest/cast/319389|work=[[Tvguide]]|accessdate=July 9, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Taraji P. Hanson|url=http://www.buddytv.com/info/taraji-p-henson-info.aspx|publisher=Buddytv|accessdate=February 18, 2015}}</ref> In the ''Person of Interest'' November 20, 2013 episode "The Crossing", after co-starring for two and a half years, Henson's character Carter was killed as part of the series' new storyline direction.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/11/20/person-interest-taraji-p-henson-interview-carter-death/ |title='Person of Interest' midseason shocker: Taraji P. Henson talks Carter's big [SPOILER!] |work=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |first=Marc |last=Snetiker |date= 20 November 2013 |accessdate=December 16, 2013}}</ref> |
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In February 2014, several months after her last episode of ''Person of Interest'' aired on CBS, Henson was hired by [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] to star in the new TV series pilot ''[[Empire (2015 TV series)|Empire]]'', a musical drama set in the [[hip hop]] recording industry.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/taraji-p-henson-nabs-female-683622 | title= Taraji P. Henson Nabs Female Lead in Fox's Lee Daniels Hip-Hop Drama 'Empire' | date= 26 February 2014 | first= Lesley |last= Goldberg | work= Hollywood Reporter | accessdate= 11 August 2014}}</ref> Henson plays Cookie Lyon opposite former ''Hustle & Flow'' costar [[Terrence Howard]]. Fox ordered the pilot to series in May 2014 and the TV series debuted on January 7, 2015 with positive reviews from critics.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-05-07/entertainment/chi-lee-daniels-empire-chicago-fox-20140507_1_lee-daniels-francie-calfo-the-butler|title=Lee Daniels' 'Empire' picked up by Fox, will 'likely' film in Chicago|accessdate=November 29, 2014|date=July 5, 2014|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|author=Gomez, Luis}}</ref><ref name=rottentomatoes>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/empire/s01/|title=Empire: Season 1|date=29 January 2015|publisher=|accessdate=8 January 2015}}</ref> |
In February 2014, several months after her last episode of ''Person of Interest'' aired on CBS, Henson was hired by [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] to star in the new TV series pilot ''[[Empire (2015 TV series)|Empire]]'', a musical drama set in the [[hip hop]] recording industry.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/taraji-p-henson-nabs-female-683622 | title= Taraji P. Henson Nabs Female Lead in Fox's Lee Daniels Hip-Hop Drama 'Empire' | date= 26 February 2014 | first= Lesley |last= Goldberg | work= Hollywood Reporter | accessdate= 11 August 2014}}</ref> Henson plays Cookie Lyon opposite former ''Hustle & Flow'' costar [[Terrence Howard]]. Fox ordered the pilot to series in May 2014 and the TV series debuted on January 7, 2015 with positive reviews from critics. She won an NAACP Image Award, in 2015, for Entertainer of the Year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-05-07/entertainment/chi-lee-daniels-empire-chicago-fox-20140507_1_lee-daniels-francie-calfo-the-butler|title=Lee Daniels' 'Empire' picked up by Fox, will 'likely' film in Chicago|accessdate=November 29, 2014|date=July 5, 2014|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|author=Gomez, Luis}}</ref><ref name=rottentomatoes>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/empire/s01/|title=Empire: Season 1|date=29 January 2015|publisher=|accessdate=8 January 2015}}</ref> |
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===Other work=== |
===Other work=== |
Revision as of 13:23, 31 March 2015
Taraji P. Henson | |
---|---|
![]() Henson at the 2011 Heart Truth fashion show | |
Born | Taraji Penda Henson September 11, 1970 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
Education | Oxon Hill High School |
Alma mater | Howard University |
Occupation(s) | Actress, singer |
Years active | 1997–present |
Children | 1 (Marcell Johnson) |
Taraji Penda Henson[1][2] (born September 11, 1970)[1][2] is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Yvette in Baby Boy (2001), Shug in Hustle & Flow (2005) and Queenie in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2009. In 2011, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for her role in Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story. From 2011 to 2013, she co-starred as Detective Jocelyn Carter in the CBS drama Person of Interest and as of 2015 stars as Cookie Lyon on the Fox musical drama series Empire .
Early life
Henson was born in southeast Washington, D.C., the daughter of Bernice Gordon, a corporate manager at Woodward & Lothrop, and Boris Lawrence Henson,[3] a janitor and metal fabricator.[4][5][6][7] Her first and middle name are of Swahili origin, "Taraji" meaning hope and "Penda" meaning love.[8][9]
Henson spent summers at her grandparents' house in suburban southern Maryland. She attended Oxon Hill High School in Oxon Hill, Maryland. She first attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where she started a major in Electrical Engineering.[10] She later transferred to Howard University.[11][7] She worked two jobs—in the morning as a secretary at the Pentagon and in the night as a waitress on The Odyssey Cruise Line to pay for Howard University.[12] She won the Triple Threat Award and graduated with a degree in Theater Arts.[13]
Career
Film
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Taraji_Henson_2009.jpg/170px-Taraji_Henson_2009.jpg)
Henson's breakthrough role was in the 2001 comedy drama film Baby Boy which she portrayed Yvette, alongside co-lead singer Tyrese Gibson.[14]
In 2005, Henson starred in the independent film Hustle & Flow as Shug, the love interest of Terrance Howard, who portrayed the male lead DJay. The film received critical acclaim and was nominated for two Academy awards, winning one. In 2008, she starred opposite Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.[15] Henson plays the role of Queenie, Benjamin's mother, in a performance which has garnered critical acclaim and an Academy award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.[16] She noted in an interview that, "Queenie is the embodiment of unconditional love."[8][15]
Henson has starred in Tyler Perry films The Family That Preys in 2008 and I Can Do Bad All By Myself in 2009. In 2010, she appeared in the remake of 1984 film of the same name The Karate Kid alongside Jaden Smith. The film was a commercial success receiving positive reviews and became a box office hit.[17]
In 2011, she starred as Tiffany Rubin in the Lifetime Movie Network film Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story. The film was based on true events of the life of a New York woman Tiffany Rubin, whose son Kobe was abducted by his biological father to South Korea. Determined to bring her son back home, she is helped by an organization for lost children which his headed by Mark Miller, portrayed by Terry O'Quinn, and with a plan they are able bring her son back home.[18] Henson's portrayal as Tiffany Rubin received positive reviews[19] which earned her several award nominations including a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.[20]
In 2012, Henson starred in the large ensemble cast film Think Like A Man, which was based on Steve Harvey's 2009 book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man. Henson reprised her role in the film's sequel Think Like a Man Too, which was released in June 2014.[21]
Television
Henson has guest-starred on several television shows, such as the WB Television Network's Smart Guy, playing the role of Monique (1997–98); the Fox series House in 2005; and CBS's CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in 2006. She also starred on an episode of Sister, Sister.[1]
Henson has also been a cast member on several television shows, including Lifetime Television's The Division and ABC's Boston Legal for one season. Her recurring appearances in television include the character Angela Scott on ABC's Eli Stone in December 2008. In 2011, Henson was cast in the CBS crime-suspense series Person of Interest.[22][23] In the Person of Interest November 20, 2013 episode "The Crossing", after co-starring for two and a half years, Henson's character Carter was killed as part of the series' new storyline direction.[24]
In February 2014, several months after her last episode of Person of Interest aired on CBS, Henson was hired by Fox to star in the new TV series pilot Empire, a musical drama set in the hip hop recording industry.[25] Henson plays Cookie Lyon opposite former Hustle & Flow costar Terrence Howard. Fox ordered the pilot to series in May 2014 and the TV series debuted on January 7, 2015 with positive reviews from critics. She won an NAACP Image Award, in 2015, for Entertainer of the Year.[26][27]
Other work
Henson made her singing debut in Hustle & Flow; she provided the vocals for the Three 6 Mafia track "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp".[12] The song won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2006, giving Three 6 Mafia the distinction of becoming the first African American hip-hop act to win in that category.[28] Henson performed the song at the live Oscar ceremony on March 5, 2006 with the group.[29] Additionally, she performed the song "In My Daughter's Eyes" on the 2006 charity album Unexpected Dreams – Songs From the Stars.[30]
Henson has made several appearances in music videos. For example, she starred in the rapper Common's music video "Testify" in 2005 as the wife of a soon to be convicted murderer.[13] She also appeared in Tyrese Gibson's music video Stay as his love interest.[31]
On March 16, 2015 she was a guest co-host on Live! with Kelly and Michael filling in for regular co-host Kelly Ripa.[32]
Personal life
Henson became pregnant her junior year of college, she gave birth May 1994 to her son Marcell Johnson.[33] Her son's father was her high-school sweetheart.[34] According to a mitochondrial DNA analysis, her matrilineal lineage can be traced to the Masa people of Cameroun.[35]
Controversy
Henson claimed that her 20 year old son (Marcel Johnson) had been racially profiled by police and that his car had been illegally searched during a traffic stop on October 18, 2014 in Glendale, California. A video obtained by the Los Angeles Times showed that Johnson had driven through a lighted crosswalk while a pedestrian was crossing, that he had given verbal consent to search his vehicle, that he had admitted to smoking marijuana two hours before going behind the wheel, and that hash oil, marijuana, and a knife were found inside his car. Apologizing for overreacting and for making unsubstantiated claims, Henson said in an Instagram [36] message that, "A mother's job is not easy and neither is a police officer's. I would like to publicly apologize to the officer and the Glendale Police Department." [37]
Activism
A supporter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Henson in January 2011 appeared nude in an ad for the I'd Rather Be Naked Than Wear Fur campaign.[38][39]
Henson joined PETA again for a 2013 campaign stating "Be an Angel for Animals". In the ad Henson poses with her family dog Uncle Willie while wearing a piece of sheer fabric. The ad highlights the issue that, "Chained dogs suffer day in and day out. They are cold, hungry, thirsty, vulnerable, and lonely. Keep them inside, where it's safe and warm."[40]
In February 2015, Henson posed in an ad for the NOH8 Campaign, which advocates same-sex marriage.[41]
Filmography
- Films
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2000 | The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle | Left-Wing Student | |
2000 | Satan's School for Girls | Paige | |
2001 | Baby Boy | Yvette | |
2004 | Hair Show | Tiffany | |
2005 | Hustle & Flow | Shug | |
2005 | Four Brothers | Camille Mercer | |
2005 | Animal | Ramona | |
2006 | Something New | Nedra | |
2007 | Smokin' Aces | Sharice Watters | |
2007 | Talk to Me | Vernell Watson | |
2008 | The Family That Preys | Pam Evans | |
2008 | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Queenie | |
2009 | Not Easily Broken | Clarice Clark-Johnson | |
2009 | Hurricane Season | Dayna Collins | |
2009 | I Can Do Bad All By Myself | April Jones | |
2010 | Date Night | Detective Arroyo | |
2010 | The Karate Kid | Sherry Parker | |
2010 | Peep World | Mary | |
2010 | Once Fallen | Pearl | |
2011 | The Good Doctor | Nurse Theresa | |
2011 | Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story[42] | Tiffany Rubin | |
2011 | Larry Crowne | B'Ella | |
2011 | Laugh at My Pain | Taraji | |
2011 | From the Rough | Catana Starks | |
2012 | Think Like a Man | Lauren Harris | |
2013 | Madly Madagascar | Okapi | |
2014 | Think Like a Man Too[21] | Lauren Harris | |
2014 | No Good Deed | Terri Granger |
- Television
Year(s) | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1997/98 | Smart Guy | Monique / Leslie | 3 episodes |
1998 | ER | Elan | Episode: "Split Second" |
2001 | Murder She Wrote: The Last Free Man | Bess Pinckney | Movie |
2002–04 | The Division | Inspector Washington | 14 episodes |
2004 | All of Us | Kim | Episode: "In Through the Out Door" |
2005 | House | Moira | Episode: "Spin" |
2006 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Christina | Episode: "I Like to Watch" |
2007–08 | Boston Legal | Whitney Rome | 17 episodes |
2008 | Eli Stone | Angela Scott | 3 episodes in season 2 |
2010 | The Cleveland Show | Chanel Williams | Episode: "Brotherly Love" |
2011–13 | Person of Interest | Jocelyn "Joss" Carter | Main role (54 episodes) |
2015–present | Empire | Cookie Lyon | Main role |
2015 | Saturday Night Live | Herself (host) | 1 episode |
Awards and nominations
- 1970 births
- North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University alumni
- Actresses from Washington, D.C.
- American female singers
- African-American actresses
- American film actresses
- American television actresses
- American people of Cameroonian descent
- Howard University alumni
- LGBT rights activists from the United States
- Living people
- Animal rights advocates
- African-American female singers