Taraji P. Henson On Her Career: ” I’m a Late Bloomer, And I’m Okay With That… Late Bloomers Last Long.”

Taraji P. Henson, along with Kate Moss, Donatella Versace, Jessica Chastain, and  Jennifer Lopez cover the March 2017 issue of W Magazine discussing being women in their fields, trials and tribulations, and how age doesn’t stop them.

“This is the life I always saw for myself,” she went on. “You have to see yourself inside the dream, you know? Why you gonna do something to fail? No, baby, that ain’t me! I always wanted to be one of the big dogs.” – Henson

No matter how big Henson gets, she always remember home, and this interview is no different. “Honey, I’m from the hood,” Henson told W Magazine writer David Amsden. “Crack. Murders. Whole neighborhoods going under in a flash.”

Henson on meeting the former first family and visiting the White House:

““We go back,” she said. “I don’t have them in my speed dial, but maybe after I screen the movie.” Last fall, when the Obamas invited prominent African-Americans to a party at the White House, Henson couldn’t attend, because she was on set shooting Empire. “I was feeling my feelings, thinking I wasn’t going to get to say goodbye to them before they left the White House.” Right at that moment she received an e-mail inviting her to a final gathering celebrating President Obama’s eight years in office. “Didn’t I just ask for that?” she exclaimed. “You see how powerful I am?””

Henson on Being Cookie:

“Yeah, to a lot of people I’ll now be Cookie forever, and that’s all good,” ­Henson said. “But I’ve always been like this. When I was a girl, my daddy used to pay me a dollar for every minute I could keep quiet. Most I ever made was, like, five bucks.”

Henson on going to L.A. while still raising her son:

“A mother before she graduated from Howard University, she set out for Los Angeles at 26 with $700 in her pocket and a young son, Marcell, to support. “And I spun that $700 into an empire, didn’t I?” noted Henson, who over the past year published a memoir, Around the Way Girl, and released a line of cosmetics with MAC, in addition to shooting Empire and Hidden Figures. “People thought I was crazy, but being a mom early enhanced my talent. It opened up a side of me that I didn’t know I had, that sense of duty and protection, and it kept me grounded in Hollywood.” While other actors her age were out networking at clubs, she was prepping for PTA meetings and shuttling her son to soccer and basketball games, all while securing steady work in TV and film. Now that Marcell is an adult, Henson has “pushed play” on certain aspects of a life she had put on pause. “I’m still that young, vivacious girl, but I have the wisdom of a woman. Now I can go to the clubs and know my limit. I’m not throwing up…I’m not going home with some fool!””

Henson on Diversity and what it means for her career & where she wants to be:

“Is it getting better for women, black women? I don’t know. It’s been great for me! I own six properties, I’m out of the hood, and my son don’t know the hood.” She let out an infectious cackle before growing ­serious. “Now, have they put all the zeroes on my check that I deserve?” she asked, noting that ever since Tyler Perry flew her to a meeting on his private jet, she’s been hankering for one of her own. “That’s the question, but not even for me because I don’t write the checks. I just keep working hard, knowing it will come.””

Throughout her life and career, Henson hasn’t always had it easy, she fought for where she is and is still fighting for her rightful recognition, However, her time is soon to come.

“It is quite groundbreaking, isn’t it? It’s supposed to be over for me at 46, but here I am. I’m a late bloomer, and I’m okay with that. Know why?” She paused once more, narrowing her eyes into a catlike glower: “Late bloomers last looong.”

Check out the entire article here: W Magazine, March 2017