Taraji Henson Bio| Wiki

Taraji Henson is an American actress and author born and raised in Washington, D.C., United States. She is well known for her role as a prostitute in the American drama film, Hustlers & Flow. Additionally, she is also known for her role as Cookie Lyon in the American musical drama television series, Empire. Henson has had a role as a single mother of a disabled child in David Fincher’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. 

Taraji Henson Age

Taraji Penda Henson is 49 years as in 2019, she was born on September 11th, 1970 in Washington, D.C., United States. She celebrates her birthday every September 11th of every year. Henson turns 50 years on September 11th, 2020. She is of the Virgo birth sign.

Taraji Henson Height

Henson is a woman of average height. She stands at a height of 5ft 4inches( 1.65m). Also, she weighs 132llbs( 60kgs).

Taraji Henson Education

Henson is a graduate from Oxon Hill High School in Oxon Hill, Maryland. She graduated in 1988. Later on, Taraji enrolled at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. She was supposed to be studying electrical engineering. However, Henson moved to Howard University to study for drama.

The college fee was a problem for her and she worked in the mornings as a secretary at The Pentagon. Additionally, Taraji used to sing and dance as a waitress on a dinner cruise ship, the Spirit of Washington in the evenings.

Taraji Henson Family

Her parents are Mr. Boris Lawrence Henson and Mrs. Bernice (née Gordon). Mr. Boris Lawrence Henson is a janitor and metal fabricator while Mrs. Bernice is a corporate manager at Woodward & Lothrop. Taraji has grown up alongside 2 siblings; Shawn and April. Additionally, her acting influence mainly comes from her maternal grandmother, Pasty Ballard. Taraji’s grandmother accompanied her at the Academy Awards in the year she was nominated.

Her matrilineal lineage traces back to the Masa people of Cameroon as from her mitochondrial DNA analysis. Additionally, Taraji said that Mathew Henson, the North pole explorer, was the bother of her great-great-grandfather. Originally, Henson’s second and first name is from the Swahili origin. ‘Taraji” means ‘hope’ while ‘Penda’ means ‘love’.

Taraji Henson Husband

Henson has had several relationships. At first, Taraji had her son, Marcell Johnson in 1994, with her high-school sweetheart, William LaMarr Johnson. However, he was murdered in 2003. Henson got engaged to former NFL player Kelvin Hayden on May 13, 2018. They have been dating for two years now.

Taraji P. Henson Husband| Kelvin Hayden

Taraji P. Henson Husband, Kelvin Hayden is a former American football cornerback and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2005 NFL DraftAdditionally, Hayden returned a Rex Grossman interception 56 yards for a touchdown in a win over the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl XLI.

Taraji P. Henson Husband Age| Kelvin Hayden Age

Kelvin Darnell Hayden Jr. is 36 years old as in 2019, he was born on July 23rd, 1983 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. He celebrates his birthday every July 23rd of every year. Hayden turns 37 years on July 23rd, 2020. He stands at a height of 1.83m and also weighs 88kgs.

Taraji Henson Son| Marcell Johnson

Marcell Johnson is 25 years old, he was born on May 10th, 1994 in the United States. He celebrates his birthday every May 10th of every year. Johnson has featured in the American drama horror film in 2017. In 2014, Taraji made claims that her son had been racially profiled by police. This was after Marcell’s car had been illegally searched during a traffic stop in Glendale, California.

Later on, a video showed that Johnson had driven through a lighted crosswalk while the pedestrian was crossing. Additionally, Marcell admitted to having smoked marijuana two hours before driving. After a search by the police, hashish oil and marijuana were found in the car. Taraji then apologized to the police and Glendale Police Department through her Instagram account. She did this forty minutes after the video was made public.

Taraji Henson Quick Facts and Body Measurements

Here are some interesting facts you don’t want to miss about Henson;

• Full Name: Taraji Pendo Henson
• Age/ How Old?: 49 years as in 2019
• Date of Birth: September 11th, 1970
• Place of Birth: Washington, D.C., United States.
• Education‎: Howard University
• Birthday: September 11th
• Nationality: American
• Father’s Name: Mr. Boris Lawrence Henson
• Mother’s Name: Mrs. Bernice (née Gordon)
• Siblings:  Shawn and April
• Married?: Dating Kelvin Hayden
• Children/ Kids: Marcell  Henson
• Height/ How tall?: 5ft 4inches
• Weight: 60kgs
• Profession: Actress and Author
• Known For: Her role as a prostitute in the American drama film, Hustlers & Flow
• Net worth: $16 million

Taraji Henson Net Worth

Henson has enjoyed a long career in the film industry spanning almost three decades. Through proceeds from her work as an actress and author, she has been able to accumulate a huge fortune. Taraji Pendo is estimated to have a net worth of about $16 million. Her most known works include her role as a prostitute in 2005, Hustlers & Flow.

Taraji Henson Empire

Henson has been playing the main role as Cookie Lyon in the American musical television series, Empire. The television series premiered in 2015 and the last episode ‘ Home Is on the Way’ was premiered on April 21st, 2020.
To mark the conclusion of the record-setting drama, EW chatted with Mahoney and Henson about being disappointed over the abrupt ending, wanting to eventually film their planned finale, and disagreeing on the future of Cookie and Lucious.

According to Taraji, it is a pretty sad way to end the Empire. This is because she feels they have already developed a family over the years and they are saying goodbye in the wrong way. They did not throw a party and it also did not get to hug them goodbye.

 Taraji Henson TV Shows and Movies

Movies

1998

•  Streetwise as Tammy

2000

• The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle as Left-Wing Student

2001

• Baby Boy as Yvette

2002

•  Book of Love: The Definitive Reason Why Men Are Dogs as Date #4/Ghetto Girl

2004

•  Hair Show as Tiffany

2005

•  Hustle & Flow as Shug
• Four Brothers as Camille Mercer
• Animal as Ramona

2006

• Something New as Nedra

2007

• Smokin’ Aces as Sharice Watters
• Talk to Me as Vernell Watson

2008

•  The Family That Preys as Pam Evans
• Curious Case of Benjamin Button as Queenie

2009

•  Not Easily Broken as Clarice Clark-Johnson
• Hurricane Season as Dayna Collins
• I Can Do Bad All by Myself as April Jones

2010

•  Date Night as Detective Arroyo
• The Karate Kid as Sherry Parker
• Peep World as Mary
• Once Fallen as Pearl

2011

• The Good Doctor as Nurse Theresa
• Larry Crowne as Bella
• Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain as Taraji
• From the Rough as Catana Starks

2012

•  Think Like a Man as Lauren Harris

2013

•  Madly Madagascar as Okapi (voice)

2014

• Think Like a Man Too as Lauren Harris
• No Good Deed as Terri Granger
• Top Five as Herself

2016

•  Term Life as Samantha Thurman
• Hidden Figures as Katherine Johnson

2018

•  Proud Mary as Mary Goodwin
• Acrimony as Melinda Gayle
• Ralph Breaks the Internet as Yesss (voice)

2019

•  What Men Want as Ali Davis
• The Best of Enemies asAnn Atwater

2020

•  Coffee & Kareem as Vanessa Manning

2021

• Minions: The Rise of Gru as Belle Bottom (voice)