This page uses content from the Taraji P. Henson biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.

Taraji Penda Henson (born September 11, 1970 in Washington, DC) is an American actress and singer. Henson has appeared in such films as Baby Boy (2001), Hustle & Flow (2005), and Four Brothers (2005), and was a cast member on Lifetime Television's The Division. Henson, who worked as a cruise ship entertainer and at the Pentagon before becoming an actress, holds a degree in theater arts from Howard University. Henson's first and middle names are of Swahili origin, meaning "hope" and "love", respectively. She is a descendant of Matthew Henson, co-discoverer of the North Pole.[1]

Henson made her singing debut in Hustle & Flow; she provided the vocals for the Three 6 Mafia track "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp". The song won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2006, giving Three 6 the distinction of becoming the first Black hip-hop act to win in the category. Henson performed the song at the Oscars on March 5, 2006 with the group.

Selected filmography

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2007)
• Smokin' Aces (2006)....Sharice Watters
• Something New (2006)...Nedra
• Animal (2005/II) (V)....Ramona
• Four Brothers (2005)....Camille Mercer
• Hustle & Flow (2005)....Shug
• Hair Show (2004)....Tiffany
• Holla (2002) TV Series....Guest
• Baby Boy (2001)....Yvette
• Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man (2001) (TV)
• All or Nothing (2001)....Kiko
• The Division (2001) TV Series....Inspector Raina Washington
• The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000) (as Taraji Henson)....Left-Wing Student
• Satan's School for Girls (2000)....Paige
• Streetwise (film)(1998)

External links

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify the biographical information on this page under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.