Trivia

Henson first attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where she attempted to study electrical engineering. She failed precalculus, so she transferred to Howard University. To pay for Howard, she worked two jobs: in the morning, as a secretary at the Pentagon; at night, as a singing and dancing waitress on a dinner cruise ship. She graduated from Howard University in 1995.

Taraji's great-great-grandfather, Joseph Henson, was a half-brother of North Pole explorer Matthew Henson. Matthew was a prominent African-American explorer.

Has a son: Marcell Johnson (b. May 10, 1994) with ex-boyfriend, William Johnson.

Dated William Johnson from February 1987 to November 1994.

Taraji P. Henson starred in the film Streetwise (1998) which was her feature film acting debut.

Claimed in an interview with Uptown magazine that her son Marcel Johnson was racially profiled when his car was stopped by police in Glendale and that police searched his car illegally. However, the dashcam video of the incident revealed that Johnson drove through a lighted crosswalk as a person walked across and that he was in possession of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia, which a police officer found after smelling marijuana smoke in the car and Johnson consented and allowed the officer to search his car. After the video surfaced, she apologized via Instagram for her statements. She was apparently misinformed about the incident by her son. (March 2015)

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6212 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on January 28, 2019.

Attended Oxon Hill High School in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

Daughter of Boris (January 12, 1948-February 19, 2006) and Bernice (née Gordon) Henson.

Friends with Mary J. Blige, Anthony Anderson, Common, and Taye Diggs.

Voted one of "The 10 Sexiest Women of 2001" by the readers of Black Men Magazine.

Founder of the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, named for her father.

Former student of acting teacher Tony Greco. Despite what Taraji wrote in her book, Tony did not teach her the Sanford Meisner technique. He taught her method acting.

Friends with Tyler Perry.

Engaged to Kelvin Hayden from May 13, 2018: Mother's Day 2018 to October 19, 2020.

Born at 4:00 AM (EST).

Has a fully functional nail salon in her house.