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Taraji P. Henson Biography

Actor

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Taraji P. Henson is the Oscar-nominated actress who played Queenie, the mother in the David Fincher film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008, starring Brad Pitt). A graduate in theater arts from Howard University, Henson began her career in Hollywood in the late 1990s, first in television. She had a memorable role in the 2001 feature film Baby Boy and was a regular cast member of the Fox Force Five-type TV drama The Division (2003-04), but it was her role as a singer/prostitute in Hustle & Flow (2005, starring Terrence Howard) that brought her mainstream attention. She followed with a strong performance opposite Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor in the 2007 drama Talk to Me, and a semi-regular role as a tough lawyer in the fourth and fifth seasons of TV's Boston Legal (with James Spader and William Shatner). Her other films include Four Brothers (2005, starring Mark Wahlberg), Smokin' Aces (2006, starring Ryan Reynolds) and Not Easily Broken (2009, based on the novel by Texas preacher T.D. Jakes).

Extra credit: Henson joined Three 6 Mafia and Cedric Coleman in performing the song "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" at the 78th Annual Academy Awards; the song won an Oscar for best original song... Her name is pronounced "ta-RAH-zhee."