My love for Taraji P. Henson & “Cookie” is so real, especially after last night’s episode of Empire!
With the success of her new hit TV show, Taraji is becoming a household name which is well overdue. From hit movies like Baby Boy, Hustle and Flow and The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button to Empire, Taraji has shown that she is here to stay!
In the new issue of Uptown magazine in which she covers, the 44 year old actress talks about her career, knowing she was going to be successful and black women in television.
On Black women on TV
“It feels good that there’s not just one black person. I don’t like that we get fixated on one or two at a time, or three at a time. If you look at Caucasian Hollywood, every year there’s a handful of new faces you’ve never seen before, then after that, they got five movies coming out and they’re introducing you to more talent. So I’m just so happy to see what’s happening on television right now. We have options and that’s how it should be.”
On making would-be stereotypical characters real
“I played a lot of characters that could’ve been borderline stereotypical women, but my job as an actress is to make the audience understand and empathize with the people. Cookie is a lot. She wears me out but I know this woman. I’ve done my research inside and out. I took Cookie from Lee and made her my own.”
On predicting her career success
My mother said she would be at the dinner table, you know, emotional over bills and stuff, and even as a young girl, I would come over to her and say, ‘Mommy, don’t cry. I’ma be really rich one day and be famous and take care of us.’ I just knew.
On her career
“This journey is not over,” she says with a bit of defiance in her voice. Empire was officially picked up for a second season and the future is sparkling bright for the rising star. “I’ve come a long way from ‘Aye, that’s that girl from Baby Boy’ to now people know how to pronounce my name. But I’m just scratching the surface. For whatever reason, God gave me this life, and I’m not gon’ fuck it up.”
