True to her heart

Taraji P. Henson has come a long way, but she still remembers to let loose and have fun.

By Bonnie Siegler

Breathtakingly stunning in a Roberto Cavalli strapless gown, who could forget the radiant Taraji P. Henson as she walked the red carpet at this year’s Academy Awards?

Still relishing in her breakthrough role as Brad Pitt’s adoptive mother in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button , the Oscar-nominated star isn’t afraid to let loose and get real. Casual from head-to-toe in jeans, a tee and plaid galoshes, Taraji was more than fashionably content as she sat down with us to discuss her balanced life. “[My boots] look like a million bucks, but they were only $60,” reveals Taraji, adding that, “I still like to bargain shop… I feel I’ve been living life like Cinderella lately. I’m having fun with it all.”

This is truly a fabulous time in Taraji’s life. As a recipient of many awards for her Benjamin Button role as Queenie — the New Orleans proprietor with a heart as big as the great outdoors — the actress admits that this Hollywood offer had mixed reactions. “I knew it was going to be a role of a lifetime, but I just never thought I had a shot,” she recalls. “I had always hoped to star opposite Brad Pitt — he was definitely on my list of people I would want to work with, but I never thought [I would be his] mother! That was a curve ball,” says Taraji, with a deep resounding laugh that seems to emanate from her toes.

Taraji is clearly and openly counting her blessings. Her father must have known a special someone was born when he named his baby daughter. In Swahili, Taraji means ‘hope’ while her middle name, Penda, means ‘love.’ “Maybe he saw this whole future for me,” reflects Henson, whose father who passed away from cancer in 2006. “I wish my daddy were here to see me now, but sometimes I think I had to go through caring for him and his dying to bring Queenie to the screen.”

Giving an honest opinion and an honest performance is easier when an actress has an affinity for life and her character. In fact, Taraji believes that her and Queenie have a lot in common. “I’m a big-hearted person like she is. When I love, I give it all. I had to learn a long time ago — and the hard way — that you can’t give all of you in love. You have to be careful who you give all of you to and make sure you give all of that love to the person who deserves it, cherishes it and will know what to do with all of that love. I’m a big-hearted person, to a fault sometimes, but I’m glad I’m that way. I felt empowered as a woman playing [Queenie] — power in the way that love is the key… You can accept the negatives in life or you can find a way to smile… So we both don’t dwell on negatives in life, but find other ways to give life and love.”

Indeed, Taraji feels that romance and love actually add to a person’s longevity and general well-being. “Your heart is healthier when you’re in love,” says the 38-year-old Washington, D.C. native. “Romance and love definitely keep me balanced in life. I don’t have a man in my life right now, but I’ve been blessed with something more — ultimate unconditional love and that’s my son, Marcel. A son never lets you down. I’ve established a lot on my own; I’m comfortable in my career and I’ve done well raising Marcel on my own, but I’d love a guy — my king — to share this with. It’s really so simple.”

Nevertheless, the curvaceous 5’5” proud mama still knows how to relax and have fun. She enjoys getting glammed up for parties and award shows, recently splurging on black Christian Louboutin ankle boots. The Howard University grad also sports a set of angel wings tattooed on her lower back. Looking through Taraji’s home, she’s clearly a fan of angels, as she freely scatters them around various rooms. “I feel my dad is my king angel and watches out for me… The [angel] on my front door says ‘Love to all those who come in here’ and another sits on the mantle next to my mother’s picture.” Not to mention, a crystal angel watches over Taraji’s office while an angel magnet oversees her refrigerator.

It doesn’t just take angels to realize that Taraji is spiritually inclined. Framed Chinese symbols for happiness, love and hope hang in her guest bathroom, along with a needlepoint that says: ‘Work as if you don’t need the money. Love as if you’ve never been hurt. Dance as if no one is watching.’ “I like to surround myself with what I want in life,” explains Henson on her home motifs. In a business where many are profoundly unhappy, Henson is not one of them. She credits spirituality and generations of women in her family for the balance and peace instilled in her life. “You have to believe in something higher than human. Spirituality has added everything to my life. Humans are flawed — they will cut you, kill you and leave you to die. I can’t give that much power to humans, but I can to a higher being.”

At an early age, Taraji learned to appreciate the long line of women in her family. “Just before we began photography for Benjamin Button, my grandmother had a get-together at her house with five of her eight children — one being my mother. What was so beautiful to see was [that] the older the women got, the more relaxed and at peace they were. These are women who don’t live in Hollywood, who don’t worry about how their faces look and they’re simply embracing aging. They celebrate it and there is something so peaceful about that.

“I am in an industry that doesn’t embrace age in women. Somebody told me once that women have an expiration date. Well, I’m bringing hope and change. I’m not afraid of aging because it’s inevitable. Either you’re going to fight it or embrace it. I choose to embrace it.”

Consequently, Taraji says that she’s become truly comfortable in her own skin. “I’ve matured and gained a lot of self confidence — I’ve proven myself a great deal,” she muses. “I’m a woman now and I’ve come a long way. I’ve accomplished a lot on my own. My son is great and he takes such an interest in the world.”

High on the list of Taraji’s global concerns is trying to keep the planet green. “I’m an avid recycler,” she boasts, “and I’m passing that along to my son. I wash out all the tins before I put [them] into the recycler. If people come over [to] my house and throw out containers, I go through the trash, pull them out, rinse off and put [them] back into the recycler.”

Wait a minute — this Oscar nominee sifts through her own trash? “Absolutely,” she proudly proclaims, adding, “I’ve downsized too [and I’m] trying to lessen my carbon footprint. I used to drive a big ol’ Yukon and now I have a smaller car. I wanted to get a Lexxus hybrid, but I couldn’t afford it. That was during the writer’s strike.” In addition, she has replaced her old lights with energy-saving bulbs. “It’s just smart — it saves money, so why wouldn’t you do that?”

When she’s not digging through her trash, you’ll find Taraji keeping fit through some cardio work and resistance training. The actress prides herself on eating organically as well as cooking her son a hot breakfast every morning before dropping him off at school. “He likes eggs and bacon with croissants or biscuits that I bake fresh. I make myself some egg whites and bacon.”

So what won’t you fi nd in her kitchen? Cereals and soda pop are a few things. “It’s lots of water and juice here. Fresh fruit in the fruit bowl, soy milk, eggs in the fridge” and making green salads. “I don’t eat meat because I’m A+ blood type and don’t digest beef well, but my son is a carnivore. So I do a lot of double cooking here. I love seafood; my favourite is miso cod and I love salmon. I made a delicious salmon meal the other day and my hair guy came over and ate it up.”

With life at an unusually hectic pace, Taraji knows the importance of ‘me time.’ Relaxation for her means lighting all the candles in the house, turning the lights down low and throwing a log on the fi re. “I have the most amazing view out my front window in the living room, so I’ll sit on the sofa and listen to music or watch a movie. It’s a visual experience for me.”

Life has surely changed for Henson since she first arrived in Tinsletown from D.C. to fulfill her Hollywood dreams — and she’s enjoying every second. “Believe it or not, I enrolled in college for electrical engineering,” she giggles. “I did this summer program where we made robots soldering circuit boards and the robots clapped on/clapped off . But I failed pre-calc in college and that was a sure sign that electrical engineering wasn’t what I should be doing. en I got back on course because my heart was always in acting.”

So does this whole-hearted actress have to fear when it comes to unexplored fi elds? “I try not to move in fear because the universe listens. What’s to fear but fear in itself? I just don’t give that kind of power to that negative force. Do I get scared? Yes. Does my mind play tricks on me? Yes and that’s when I take my fi ngers and pluck that little devil off my shoulder because fear can crumble you.

“We are humans, so we fear and that’s what makes us humans. When I get those thoughts, I hear them, recognize them and then move them right where they need to be — out of my head. I get rid of them and put it in the garbage and they aren’t recycled because they’re never coming back.”

Taraji is clearly sitting on top of the world and hopes to be a role model. “I had Marcel in my senior year of college, then moved to Los Angeles. I have to tell you — it was scary because it was just him and me, but I had to prove to him that dreams can come true.” Modesty sets in a bit as she lists her inspirations from Michelle and Barack Obama to Meryl Streep, George Clooney and “my son Brad Pitt. Brad will forever be my son and he always will call me mama.” In a quick flash, she cracks up at herself and struts to our camera after changing into an emerald gown and pink jewels. “Okay everyone, I’m ready to work it,” she announces. Indeed she is.