never be
afraid to
reinvent
yourself
Wherever it is I’m going in this business,
I’m not there yet,” Taraji says, laughing.
“Who wants to come to Hollywood and be on the
B list? I want the A list!” I think it’s safe to say, Taraji
P. Henson has made the A list and then some. From
holding yard sales to make ends meet, Taraji is now
building an Empire.
How did this super sexy, single mom from
Washington DC do it?
Born, Taraji Penda Henson to Mother Bernice
Gordon and Father Boris Henson, life didn’t come
without its challenges for Taraji.
Henson’s mother, Bernice Gordon, worked for
a Washington area department store chain,
Woodward & Lothrop, in a distribution center.
Taraji’s father, Boris Henson, was a maintenance
man at Bolling Air Force Base. He earned extra
money after hours, putting security bars on houses.
Taraji’s parents split when she was a toddler. She
and her mom were living in a run - down threestory apartment when her mother was robbed at
gunpoint on her way home. In a separate attack,
a thief smashed her mother’s face, detaching a
retina, as she and 9-year-old Taraji were getting
into their car.
Taraji’s father, Boris Henson fell into homelessness.
Despite his challenges he’d pick his daughter up
from school whenever he could. Taraji recalls in a
recent interview that they’d ride around, laughing
and making plans for the future. Boris Henson
remarried and has played a major role in his
daughter’s career.
As a young girl and only child, Henson had a wildly
creative imagination. She was also often disruptive
in school and was considered “a class clown”.
Taraji became interested in pursuing an acting
A note from
Taraji P. Henson
career in middle school when she joined
the drama club. She would participate in
productions throughout her time in middle
school. Henson first found the need to reinvent
herself when she applied to the Duke Ellington
School for the Arts and was rejected. She
was crushed; So much so that she decided
to change her career path after High School
enrolling at North Carolina Agricultural and
Technical State University to study to be an
electrical engineer. Again, Taraji’s hopes and
dreams where crushed when she failed precalculus. Feeling hopeless, it was Taraji’s Father
that stepped in and stepped up. Taraji’s father
encouraged his daughter to reinvent herself.
Back on track, Taraji pursued her true passion
home in DC at Howard University’s theater
program. After sitting out a year, Taraji worked in
the morning as a receptionist at the Pentagon.
Yes, THE PENTAGON. She went to school during
the afternoon and worked as a singing waitress
on a cruise ship at night. All things seemed to
be moving in the direction Henson wanted until
her junior year. As we all know, just when you
think you have it figured out, God shows you
who is REALLY running the show.
Go to www.urbanpulsedirectmiami.com to
find out what happens to set Taraji P. Henson
on the path to her EMPIRE.
urbanpulsedirectmiami.com 7