Taraji P. Henson Ditches Her Wigs for CR Fashion Book Shoot: "I Feel Naked"

Empire star poses au naturel for the magazine

Taraji P. Henson is taking it all off—well, the hair off.

The Empire star has donned some wild outfits and hairdos on the hit Fox show, but in a new shoot for CR Fashion Book, the actress is stripping down for the cameras and revealing her gorgeous natural hair. When the idea first presented itself, however, she admitted she was nervous. Thankfully photographer Bruce Weber encouraged her to embrace her natural form.

"So I'm trying on the clothes and the silk scarf I have on my head slips off, and I say, 'Hey, look at my cornrows, aren't they beautiful?'" she explains. "Bruce Weber is standing there and he goes, 'We'll shoot that.' And I go, 'What? We'll shoot what?' And he says, 'We'll shoot your hair just like that, it's beautiful.'"

It took some coercing from Weber, but ultimately Henson agreed to pose au naturel. "Part of me was like, 'No, no, no, NO!' This is the hair no one is supposed to see. This is like behind closed doors hair," she admitted. "I feel naked. I feel like a plucked chicken...or a wet one. A baby chicken!"

That is definitely not the case. Henson looks stunning in her photo shoot, posing in a variety of outfits that flaunt her fabulous figure. Showing skin in some and concealing in others, the Oscar nominee proves she is certainly not a "baby chicken"—far from it!

"But Bruce says to me, 'It's not about the hair, it's your face.' So I just decided to trust the artist's vision," she explained. "As an actress that's what we do." 

Sitting on top of basketball player Michael Beasley, Henson looks right at home in her bathrobe, so trusting his "vision" turned out to be a great idea! In a behind-the-scenes video, Henson further discussed her decision to show off her cornrows and admits that most wouldn't be willing to reveal this side of their beauty routine.

"Women will never let you see them like this—weave hair," she added. "Fashion people are crazy!"

We've seen her with purple tresses and even with Beyoncé-like curls, but it's great to see what she actually looks like beneath the wigs.