Early Life & Family
Taraji Penda Henson was born on September 11, 1970, in Washington, D.C., to Bernice Gordon, a corporate manager, and Boris Lawrence Henson, a janitor and metal fabricator. Her parents divorced when she was young, and she was raised primarily by her mother and grandmother, who played a major role in her upbringing.
Her name has Swahili origins: Taraji means “hope” and Penda means “love.” She later discovered through DNA analysis that her maternal lineage traces back to the Masa people of Cameroon. She’s also related to Matthew Henson, the African-American explorer who co-discovered the North Pole.
Education & Early Hustle
Taraji graduated from Oxon Hill High School in Maryland in 1988. She initially enrolled at North Carolina A&T State University to study electrical engineering but transferred to Howard University to pursue acting after struggling with math.
To pay for school, she worked two jobs: as a secretary at the Pentagon in the mornings and as a singing-dancing waitress on a dinner cruise ship at night. That grit and hustle would become a defining trait of her career.
Career Breakthroughs
Her film debut came in 1998 with Streetwise, but her breakout role was in John Singleton’s Baby Boy (2001), opposite Tyrese Gibson. She gained critical acclaim for her role in Hustle & Flow (2005), and her performance in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
She continued to shine in films like:
The Karate Kid (2010)
Think Like a Man (2012)
Acrimony (2018)
Hidden Figures (2016), where she portrayed NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, a role that brought her global recognition.
Television Stardom
Taraji made waves on TV too. She starred in:
The Division (2002–2004)
Person of Interest (2011–2013)
Empire (2015–2020) as Cookie Lyon, a role that earned her a Golden Globe and multiple Emmy nominations.
She also received Emmy nods for Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story and a guest role in Abbott Elementary.
Author & Advocate
In 2016, she released her memoir, Around the Way Girl, which became a New York Times bestseller. She’s also a fierce advocate for mental health, especially in the Black community. In 2018, she founded the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, named after her father, to provide mental health support and education.
Awards & Recognition
Academy Award nominee
Golden Globe winner
Six-time Emmy nominee
Tony Award nominee
Named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in both 2016 and 2024
Received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2019
Net Worth
As of 2024, her estimated net worth is $12 million, earned through acting, producing, endorsements, and her production company, TPH Entertainment.
From the Pentagon to the Oscars, Taraji’s journey is a masterclass in perseverance, talent, and authenticity.
