Taraji P. Henson always knew she wanted to be an actress.
The 48-year-old actress never had second thoughts about her chosen career path, particularly because she didn’t want to send the wrong message to her child.
Asked if she ever thought of looking for a stable job, she said: "Never. Time was ticking. I was in my 20s and you’re fearless then. I was waiting for my chance. I never turned an audition down. I didn’t care what it was for, I was just hungry. When my dad was alive, he wouldn’t allow me to quit. It wasn’t an option. Once I had my son, I realised if I quit, I’m teaching him to quit. There were times I got scared and my dad was there to champion me, like, ‘Hang in there, because you don’t see what I see, it’s coming.’ He’d seen my plays, he knew my talent. My mom and my aunt would send me money. There was no space to quit."
And the ‘Empire’ star – who plays matriarch Cookie Lyon in the drama series – also opened up about feeling threatened when a man decided to "hit" on her during a flight.
She said: "A man hit me on the plane the other day. They think they know you and come and grab you. But Cookie is a character and I’m Taraji so I’m like, ‘Please don’t touch me’. I didn’t want to be that person but now my security flies with me in first. "
The ‘Hidden Figures’ star has taken some time to find global fame and she admitted it’s "crazy" to have reached the successes she now has.
She told Marie Claire magazine: "It’s crazy. I’ve been working so much and then it’s like … Time magazine! My grandmother is 94 and about to witness her granddaughter getting a Hollywood star. That’s history!"
Taraji P. Henson’s acting dreams
