Taraji P. Henson

Taraji P. Henson is an Academy Award-nominated actress, producer, and mental health advocate. The four-time Emmy Award nominee has carved an illustrious path in the entertainment industry, captivating audiences with her compelling performances and unyielding commitment to authenticity.

Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in challenging circumstances, Henson's journey to stardom was unconventional. Initially pursuing a degree in electrical engineering at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical University, her life took a turn when she transferred to Howard University, studying theater while navigating the demands of two jobs to support herself and her newborn son.

Upon graduation, Henson ventured to Los Angeles, where her resilience and talent began to shine. While juggling an office job, she secured small roles in various television series. Her breakout performance in the critically acclaimed film "Hustle & Flow" earned her and the cast a Screen Actors Guild nomination as well as the BET Award for Best Actress. Her filmography expanded, culminating in an Academy Award nomination for her role in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" in 2008.

Henson focused primarily on film until 2015, when she returned to television in “Empire” as Cookie Lyon, a role for which she won a Golden Globe award and the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series, becoming the first black actress in the history of the awards show to do so. The television series also garnered her two Primetime Emmy Award nominations in the same category.

In 2016, she starred as NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson in the critically acclaimed film "Hidden Figures," which won her an MTV Movie Award for Best Hero and an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress, cementing Henson’s popularity and iconic status. In 2019, Henson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. An advocate for equal pay in the entertainment world and beyond, Henson was named by TIME as one of their 2024 Women of the Year.

Offscreen, Henson is the author of "Around the Way Girl," a memoir. In 2018, she founded The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation in honor of her father, a nonprofit committed to challenging the perception of mental illness in the African American community. The organization provides scholarships to African-American students majoring in mental health, offers mental health services to youth in urban schools, and works to lower the recidivism rates of African-American men and women.

Henson is available in partnership with Collective Speakers.