Biography
Taraji P. Henson (born September 11, 1970) is an American actress, producer and singer. She studied acting at Howard University and began her Hollywood career as guest star on several television shows before making her breakthrough in the movie Baby Boy (2001). In 2005, she starred in Hustle & Flow and played Queenie in David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), for which she received an Academy Award nomination. In 2016, Time named Henson one of the 100 most influential pe...
Known For
Complete Filmography

STRAW
2025
as Janiyah Wiltkinson
What will be her last straw? A devastatingly bad day pushes a hardworking single mother to the breaking point — and into a shocking act of desperation...

TIME100: The World's Most Influential People
2024
as Host
Taraji P. Henson hosts the gala to celebrate TIME's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world; scheduled performances from Dua Lipa ...

Where’s Usher?
2024
as Self
The road to Usher’s Super Bowl halftime performance continues. This time, Apple Music drops a new official film, Where’s Usher?, to promote the perfor...

Oprah & The Color Purple Journey
2023
as Self
A behind-the-scenes look into the making of the new feature film “The Color Purple,” and the impact the story has had on our culture. Oprah Winfrey ta...

The Color Purple
2023
as Shug Avery
A decades-spanning tale of love and resilience and of one woman's journey to independence. Celie faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately find...

Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
2023
as Self (voice)
Intimate vérité, archival footage, and visually innovative treatments of poetry take us on a journey through the dreamscape of legendary queer poet Ni...

Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
2023
Executive Producer
Intimate vérité, archival footage, and visually innovative treatments of poetry take us on a journey through the dreamscape of legendary queer poet Ni...

PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie
2023
as Victoria Vance (voice)
A magical meteor crash lands in Adventure City and gives the PAW Patrol pups superpowers, transforming them into The Mighty Pups.

Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 4
2022
as Self
A seductive fashion fever dream that blends style, dance, and music with the hypnotic essence of nocturnal nature. Featuring a star-studded cast all w...

Tell It Like a Woman
2022
Director
Tell It Like A Woman comprises of seven segments that are directed by female directors from different parts of the world and shot in Italy, India, Jap...

Minions: The Rise of Gru
2022
as Belle Bottom (voice)
A fanboy of a supervillain supergroup known as the Vicious 6, Gru hatches a plan to become evil enough to join them, with the backup of his followers,...

Annie Live!
2021
as Miss Hannigan
Annie, the beloved seven-time Tony Award-winning Broadway sensation, comes to life like never before in a live musical event starring Harry Connick, J...

Muppets Haunted Mansion
2021
as The Bride
Gonzo is challenged to spend one night in The Haunted Mansion on Halloween night.

Mary J. Blige's My Life
2021
as Self
Mary J. Blige set the music world on fire with her trailblazing 1994 LP "My Life." The singer, producer and actress reveals the demons and blessings t...

Feeding America Comedy Festival
2020
as Self
All-star comics perform in support of Feeding America.

Coffee & Kareem
2020
as Vanessa Manning
A Detroit cop reluctantly teams with his girlfriend's 11-year-old son to clear his name and take down the city's most ruthless criminal.

This Changes Everything
2019
as Self
An investigative look and analysis of gender disparity in Hollywood, featuring accounts from well-known actors, executives and artists in the Industry...

The Best of Enemies
2019
as Ann Atwater
Centers on the unlikely relationship between Ann Atwater, an outspoken civil rights activist, and C.P. Ellis, a local Ku Klux Klan leader who reluctan...

What Men Want
2019
as Alison 'Ali' Davis
Magically able to hear what men are thinking, a sports agent uses her newfound ability to turn the tables on her overbearing male colleagues.

What Men Want
2019
Executive Producer
Magically able to hear what men are thinking, a sports agent uses her newfound ability to turn the tables on her overbearing male colleagues.

Ralph Breaks the Internet
2018
as Yesss (voice)
Video game bad guy Ralph and fellow misfit Vanellope von Schweetz must risk it all by traveling to the World Wide Web in search of a replacement part ...

Acrimony
2018
as Melinda Moore Gayle
Faithful wife Melinda, who is tired of standing by her devious husband Robert, is enraged when it becomes clear she has been betrayed. That's when she...

Proud Mary
2018
as Mary
Mary is a hit woman working for an organized crime family in Boston, whose life is completely turned around when she meets a young boy whose path she ...

Proud Mary
2018
Executive Producer
Mary is a hit woman working for an organized crime family in Boston, whose life is completely turned around when she meets a young boy whose path she ...

Taraji's White Hot Holiday Special
2017
as Self - Host / Mrs. Claus / Mary / Prancer
Taraji P. Henson, Golden Globe-winning star of EMPIRE and the movie “Hidden Figures,” is back this holiday season to spread cheer, goodwill and some h...

Taraji's White Hot Holiday Special
2017
Executive Producer
Taraji P. Henson, Golden Globe-winning star of EMPIRE and the movie “Hidden Figures,” is back this holiday season to spread cheer, goodwill and some h...

Hidden Figures
2016
as Katherine G. Johnson
The untold story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson – brilliant African-American women working at NASA and serving as the brain...

Term Life
2016
as Samantha Thurman
If Nick Barrow can stay alive for 21 days, he'll die happy. Everyone Nick knows wants him dead; Mob bosses, contract killers, and dirty cops. Performi...

Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade
2016
as Ethel (voice)
A harried prehistoric bird mother entrusts her precious, soon-to-hatch egg to Sid. When she recommends him to her neighbours, business booms at his ne...

Top Five
2014
as Self
Though he began in stand-up comedy, Andre Allen hit the big-time as the star of a trilogy of action-comedies about a talking bear but now he wants to ...

Seasons of Love
2014
as Jackie
Set in the picturesque backdrop of New York, "Seasons of Love" is a romantic, soulful holiday drama about two people who struggle to find love against...

Seasons of Love
2014
Executive Producer
Set in the picturesque backdrop of New York, "Seasons of Love" is a romantic, soulful holiday drama about two people who struggle to find love against...

No Good Deed
2014
as Terry
Terri is a devoted wife and mother of two, living an ideal suburban life in Atlanta when Colin, a charming but dangerous escaped convict, shows up at ...

No Good Deed
2014
Executive Producer
Terri is a devoted wife and mother of two, living an ideal suburban life in Atlanta when Colin, a charming but dangerous escaped convict, shows up at ...

Think Like a Man Too
2014
as Lauren Harris
All the couples are back for a wedding in Las Vegas, but plans for a romantic weekend go awry when their various misadventures get them into some comp...
Picasso Baby
2013
as Self
Jay Z performs Picasso Baby at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.

From the Rough
2013
as Catana Starks
The coach of a women's swim team parlays her success into an opportunity to build her school's men's golf team.

Madly Madagascar
2013
as Okapi (voice)
Your favorite Madagascar pals are back in an all-new adventure! Alex's favorite holiday, Valentine's Day, brings hilarious surprises and excitement fo...

Whitney Houston: We Will Always Love You
2012
as Self
Famed for her extraordinary vocal range and uncanny ability to reach the emotional core of a song, We Will Always Love You pays tribute to that magni...

Think Like a Man
2012
as Lauren Harris
The balance of power in four couples’ relationships is upset when the women start using the advice in Steve Harvey’s book, Act Like A Lady, Think Like...

Larry Crowne
2011
as B'Ella
When he suddenly finds himself without his long-standing blue-collar job, Larry Crowne enrolls at his local college to start over. There, he becomes p...

The Good Doctor
2011
as Nurse Theresa
Dr. Martin Blake, who has spent his life looking for respect, meets an 18-year-old patient named Diane, suffering from a kidney infection, and gets a ...

Taken from Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story
2011
as Tiffany Rubin
In 2008, New York mother Tiffany Rubin faced every parent's worst nightmare when her six year old son Kobe vanished into thin air. Upon learning that ...

Once Fallen
2010
as Pearl
When Chance (Brian Presley) returns home after five years in jail, he is determined to escape his past, start a new life and make peace with his fathe...

Peep World
2010
as Mary
On the day of their Father's 70th birthday party, four siblings come to terms with the publication of a novel written by the youngest sibling, that ex...

The Karate Kid
2010
as Sherry Parker
12-year-old Dre Parker could've been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother's latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately fal...

Date Night
2010
as Detective Arroyo
Phil and Claire Foster fear that their mild-mannered relationship may be falling into a stale rut. During their weekly date night, their dinner reserv...

Hurricane Season
2009
as Dayna Collins
Based on true events amid the wreckage and chaos dealt by Hurricane Katrina; one basketball coach in Marrero, Louisiana just will not give up. Coach A...

I Can Do Bad All By Myself
2009
as April
When Madea catches teenage Jennifer and her two younger brothers looting her home, she decides to take matters into her own hands and delivers the you...

The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button
2009
as Self
A documentary about the making of David Fincher's 2008 film THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Virtually every element in the evolution of the Finch...

Not Easily Broken
2009
as Clarice Clark
A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2008
as Queenie
Born under unusual circumstances, Benjamin Button springs into being as an elderly man in a New Orleans nursing home and ages in reverse. Twelve years...

Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys
2008
as Pam
Wealthy socialite Charlotte Cartwright and her dear friend Alice Pratt, a working class woman of high ideals, have enjoyed a lasting friendship throug...

Talk to Me
2007
as Vernell Watson
The story of Washington D.C. radio personality Ralph "Petey" Greene, an ex-con who became a popular talk show host and community activist in the 1960s...

Smokin' Aces
2006
as Sharice Watters
When a Las Vegas performer-turned-snitch named Buddy Israel decides to turn state's evidence and testify against the mob, it seems that a whole lot of...

Something New
2006
as Nedra
Kenya McQueen, a corporate lawyer, finds love in the most unexpected place when she agrees to go on a blind date with Brian Kelly, a sexy and free-spi...

Four Brothers
2005
as Camille Mercer
Four adopted brothers return to their Detroit hometown when their mother is murdered and vow to exact revenge on the killers.

Hustle & Flow
2005
as Shug
With help from his friends, a Memphis pimp in a mid-life crisis attempts to become a successful hip-hop emcee.

Animal
2005
as Ramona
His name: infamous. His reputation: ruthless. But when James "Animal"Allen is locked up in a maximum security prison, he meets a revolutionary who cha...

Hair Show
2004
as Tiffany
Running from the IRS due to back taxes, Baltimore hairdresser and salon owner Peaches reunites with her more successful sister, Angela, a fellow styli...

Book of Love: The Definitive Reason Why Men Are Dogs
2002
as Date #4 / Ghetto Girl (as Taraji Henson)
Book of Love delivers humor along with the mysteries of unrequited love and relationships gone bad. The film's story line focuses on three men living,...

Baby Boy
2001
as Yvette
The story of Jody, a misguided, 20-year-old African-American who is really just a baby boy finally forced-kicking and screaming to face the commitment...

Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man
2001
as Bess Pinckney
Jessica Fletcher discovers a shocking old family secret that leads her on a journey to the deep South to bring to light the mysterious details surroun...

The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle
2000
as Left-Wing Student
Rocky and Bullwinkle have been living off the finances made from the reruns of their cartoon show. Boris and Natasha somehow manage to crossover into ...

Satan's School for Girls
2000
as Paige
A young woman enrolls at an all-girls college in New England to investigate her sister's suicide and is slowly lured into a witchcraft cult by a quart...

Streetwise
1998
as Tammy
Three brothers use legal and illegal methods to make it out of their drug-infected neighborhood.
Sorcerority
N/A
Sorcerority follows a young African-American girl, Melanie, who, like her late mother, enrolls into a historically African-American coven and universi...
Force
N/A
Plot kept under wraps. Described as a crime drama about a corrupt vigilante group.
Two Faced
N/A
Director
A high school senior attempts to get her principal fired after observing racist behavior, but she quickly learns he won’t go down without a fight.