Taraji P. Henson – Net Worth, Husband & Son
The actress was born Taraji Penda Henson on September 11, 1970, in Washington DC to her parents Bernice and Boris Lawrence Henson. When she was only two, her father, a metal fabricator and her mother, a corporate manager got divorced although this never changed the way they both loved her. Being the only child of her parents and seeing how her father struggled for his daily bread after he was laid off motivated Henson to work very hard.
Wanting to pursue her dreams, she tried enrolling at Duke Ellington School for the Arts but was turned down. She then attended Oxon Hill High School and graduated in 1988. Moving on to study Engineering at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, she didn’t do well in her pre-calculus and so, left the school and transferred to Howard University to study theatre. To ensure her continued stay in school, she took different jobs to pay her fees. Her impressive performance at Howard later earned her Triple Treat Scholarship. Taraji later graduated with a degree in Fine Arts.
Venturing fully into her dream career, Taraji P Henson made her debut in the TV show Smart Guy’ in 1997. Her interesting appearance earned her more roles and she featured in major series like ER, Sister Sister, CSI, and many others before she landed a major role in the comedy Baby Boy (2001). In 2005, she starred alongside Terrence Howard in the movie Hustle & Flow which got Academy nominations and an award. She also sang in the film’s song titled ‘It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp’. For her contribution in the movie, she also got nods at the ‘NAACP Image Awards’, ‘MTV Movie Awards’, ‘Screen Actors Guild Awards, and many other platforms, shooting her brand to prominence.
Taraji kept on featuring in more blockbuster movies and in 2011, she landed a role as Tiffany Rubin in Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story. Another major role followed in 2012 with the movie Think Like A Man, an adaptation of Steve Harvey’s book ‘Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man’.
In 2014, she starred as Terri Granger in ‘No Good Deed’ which also earned her a BET award, as well as two ‘NAACP Image Awards.
After she starred on drama series, Person of Interest, the talented actress got the role of ‘Cookie Lyon’ in musical drama series ‘Empire’ after she was hired by Fox to take up the role. She stars opposite co-star Terrence Howard in the series which hit the screens on January 7, 2015. The movie has stayed on top, with several positive reviews and recognition for its cast including Taraji .P Henson.
