Taraji Penda Henson (born September 11, 1970) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Yvette in Baby Boy (2001), Shug in Hustle and 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.
Personal life
Henson was born in Southeast Washington, D.C., the daughter of Bernice Gordon, a corporate manager at Woodward & Lothrop, and Boris Henson, a janitor and metal fabricator. She is the great grandcousin of Matthew Henson, one of the explorers who discovered the Geographic North Pole. Her first and middle name are of Swahili origin with her first name meaning "hope" and her middle name meaning "love."
Henson attended Oxon Hill High School in Oxon Hill, Maryland. She first attended NC A&T, where she started a major in Electrical Engineering. She later transferred to Howard University. She worked two jobs—in the morning as a secretary at the Pentagon and in the night as a singing and dancing waitress on a dinner cruise ship- The Spirit of Washington- to pay for Howard University. She graduated with a degree in Theater Arts.
Her son Marcel was born in 1995. Marcell is Taraji’s son with ex-boyfriend William Lamar Johnson, who died in 2004.” Taraji's father died in 2006.
Henson has said in an interview that her philosophy in life is: "Love as often as you can. Dance like nobody's watching. Travel. Eat. Try new foods because, like my character says, you never know what's coming for you and when it's time to let go, you got to let go."
Career
Henson has appeared in the films Four Brothers (2005), Talk To Me (2007), Smokin' Aces (2007), Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys (2008), Not Easily Broken (2009), and Hurricane Season (2009). In late 2008, she starred opposite Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Henson plays the role of Queenie, Benjamin's mother, in a performance which has garnered critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She noted in an interview that, "Queenie is the embodiment of unconditional love."
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 the ABC television show "Eli Stone" in December 2008. She has guest-starred on several television shows, such as The WB show Smart Guy playing the role of Monique (1997–1998), the Fox Television show House in 2005 and the CBS Television show CSI in 2006. She also starred on an episode of Sister, Sister.
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". The song won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2006, giving Three 6 the distinction of becoming the first Black hip-hop act to win in the category. Henson performed the song at the Oscars on March 5, 2006 with the group.
Henson has made several appearances on music videos. Henson appeared in the rapper Common's music video called "Testify" in 2005 as the wife o
f a soon to be convicted murderer. On December 5, 2008, Jamie Foxx premiered his new music video "Just Like Me" on TBS featuring T.I. and Henson, the latter engaging Foxx in a series of "anything you can do, I can do better" style events.
Filmography
Year
Film
Role
Notes
2000
The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle
Left-Wing Student
2001
Baby Boy
Yvette
2004
Hair Show
Tiffany
2005
Hustle & Flow
Shug
Nominated - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion PictureNominated - MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough PerformanceNominated - MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss shared with Terrence HowardNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Four Brothers
Camille Mercer
Animal
Ramona
2006
Something New
Nedra
2007
Smokin' Aces
Sharice Watters
Talk to Me
Vernell Watson
Nominated - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion PictureNominated - Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
2008
The Family That Preys
Pam
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Queenie
Won - BET Award for Best ActressWon - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting ActressNominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated - Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated - MTV Movie Award for Best Female PerformanceNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2009
Not Easily Broken
Clarice Clark-Johnson
Hurricane Season
Dayna Collins
I Can Do Bad All By Myself
April
2010
Date Night
Cop
Personal life
Henson was born in Southeast Washington, D.C., the daughter of Bernice Gordon, a corporate manager at Woodward & Lothrop, and Boris Henson, a janitor and metal fabricator. She is the great grandcousin of Matthew Henson, one of the explorers who discovered the Geographic North Pole. Her first and middle name are of Swahili origin with her first name meaning "hope" and her middle name meaning "love."
Henson attended Oxon Hill High School in Oxon Hill, Maryland. She first attended NC A&T, where she started a major in Electrical Engineering. She later transferred to Howard University. She worked two jobs—in the morning as a secretary at the Pentagon and in the night as a singing and dancing waitress on a dinner cruise ship- The Spirit of Washington- to pay for Howard University. She graduated with a degree in Theater Arts.
Her son Marcel was born in 1995. Marcell is Taraji’s son with ex-boyfriend William Lamar Johnson, who died in 2004.” Taraji's father died in 2006.
Henson has said in an interview that her philosophy in life is: "Love as often as you can. Dance like nobody's watching. Travel. Eat. Try new foods because, like my character says, you never know what's coming for you and when it's time to let go, you got to let go."
Career
Henson has appeared in the films Four Brothers (2005), Talk To Me (2007), Smokin' Aces (2007), Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys (2008), Not Easily Broken (2009), and Hurricane Season (2009). In late 2008, she starred opposite Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Henson plays the role of Queenie, Benjamin's mother, in a performance which has garnered critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She noted in an interview that, "Queenie is the embodiment of unconditional love."
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 the ABC television show "Eli Stone" in December 2008. She has guest-starred on several television shows, such as The WB show Smart Guy playing the role of Monique (1997–1998), the Fox Television show House in 2005 and the CBS Television show CSI in 2006. She also starred on an episode of Sister, Sister.
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". The song won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2006, giving Three 6 the distinction of becoming the first Black hip-hop act to win in the category. Henson performed the song at the Oscars on March 5, 2006 with the group.
Henson has made several appearances on music videos. Henson appeared in the rapper Common's music video called "Testify" in 2005 as the wife o
f a soon to be convicted murderer. On December 5, 2008, Jamie Foxx premiered his new music video "Just Like Me" on TBS featuring T.I. and Henson, the latter engaging Foxx in a series of "anything you can do, I can do better" style events.Filmography
Year
Film
Role
Notes
2000
The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle
Left-Wing Student
2001
Baby Boy
Yvette
2004
Hair Show
Tiffany
2005
Hustle & Flow
Shug
Nominated - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion PictureNominated - MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough PerformanceNominated - MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss shared with Terrence HowardNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Four Brothers
Camille Mercer
Animal
Ramona
2006
Something New
Nedra
2007
Smokin' Aces
Sharice Watters
Talk to Me
Vernell Watson
Nominated - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion PictureNominated - Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
2008
The Family That Preys
Pam
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Queenie
Won - BET Award for Best ActressWon - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting ActressNominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated - Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated - MTV Movie Award for Best Female PerformanceNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2009
Not Easily Broken
Clarice Clark-Johnson
Hurricane Season
Dayna Collins
I Can Do Bad All By Myself
April
2010
Date Night
Cop
Taraji P. Henson Filmography
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
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