Taraji Penda Henson (born September 11, 1970) is an
American actress. She is best known for her roles as Yvette in
Baby Boy (2001), Shug in
Hustle and Flow (2005) and Queenie in
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), for which she was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2009.
Personal life
Henson was born in Southeast
Washington, D.C., the daughter of Bernice Gordon, a corporate manager at
Woodward & Lothrop, and Boris Henson, a janitor and fabricator.
[Veteran Actors, First Time Nominees][NAACP nominates actress with local ties] She is the great grandcousin of
Matthew Henson, one of the explorers who discovered the Geographic
North Pole.
[Black Voices website] Her first and middle name are of
Swahili origin with her first name meaning "hope" and her middle name meaning "love."
[Interview with Tavis Smiley, 2008 Dec 19]
