Queen Cookie Taraji P. Henson is dishing on her #lifegoals in the latest November issue of ESSENCE Magazine, reflecting on over a decade of hustling in Hollywood—all while stunning in a gorgeous high-slit black beaded gown.
While the 45-year-old Oscar and Emmy nominee seems to have taken over our television screens overnight in the role of a lifetime, this is far from her first script. In fact, the Empire actress made her screen debut back in 1997 with a cameo appearance on the Mowry twin's Sister, Sister.
It wasn't until four years later that she had her "breakthrough" performance in Baby Boy and later acclaim alongside current co-star Terrence Howard in Hustle & Flow. An Oscar nomination arose in 2008 for her endearing performance in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but she still didn't become a household name until this past year as the ferocious Cookie Lyon in Empire.
"Even though people are just now finding me as Cookie, thank God for Netflix because people are so moved by my performance they're like, ‘Where has she been?'" Henson told ESSENCE Magazine. "I've always said I want to do the type of work that people study."
Despite a slow progression that ails many actors in the industry, the sassy siren asserts it was all just a part of her master plan.
"I'm just gonna keep amassing an audience," Henson declared on the future of her career. "Everything was strategically planned. This is what all my efforts are for."
It's that same steady rise that fuels Henson's fire, particularly when it comes to celebrity overnight sensations.
"These kids are thinking they can do reality TV and come and do this craft that I studied, sweated and grinded," Henson argued. "People forget it's a craft because it's so pop now...Can they make me believe the words coming out of their mouth?"
Still, Henson doesn't need to have any qualms about people believing the words that come out of her mouth. In a quote from the issue exclusively given to E! News, Lee Daniels, the FOX series' co-creator, revealed he stopped auditions after seeing Henson for the role and is even contemplating a spin-off dedicated directly to the character in a few years.
"Taraji came in with that cheap fur coat on, some heels and a $2 dress she must have picked up off the rack in Harlem somewhere," Daniels recollected. "I couldn't believe it. She's over-the-top. She's able to go into the places of discomfort that most actresses wouldn't go. Cookie was finding her class and Taraji had no problem doing it."
ESSENCE's November #LifeGoals Guide issue hits newsstands on Oct. 16.