To the world I'm Taraji P Henson, a well-known black actress but to me I'm just T a girl from DC that came to LA with a dream of becoming an actress. The year was 1995. I was a single mother with a child and 700 dollars. To my name and no place to lay my head. Child I didn't have a pot to piss in nor a window to throw it out but I was determined. My child's father had been killed in a drive-by shooting leaving me with a child to support on my own. Ken was my first love when we met High School and the rest was history. I got pregnant my senior year and was forced to become an adult overnight. I worked a couple odd jobs, became a booster and learned how to do hair. I even tried working in the nursing program in my city. But I couldn't get anybody to watch my son Jason for the hours I will be in school no matter how hard I tried to do good and never worked out. So I started selling weed and doing scams. Your girl was a hustler. I had a fake ID by the age of 15. So I was going to LA and I would make it because I can make it anywhere. La was different in the '90s; it had a different feel than it does now. In 2024 but as The Story Goes On and as of now I can finally say I made it I've been in over 40 films and my biggest to date just wrapped last year the infamous Color Purple with Oprah Winfrey. Although I am grateful for the opportunity I still don't feel like I was paid without deserved but going forward I hope to reach New Heights and to never see a straight of Color Purple anything ever again that was my first and last time working with Miss Winfrey I can only hope now to have more recognition and to think God truly because the movie and circumstances let me to Fantasia Barrino my lover my partner and my friend but let me tell you how we got here the road wasn't easy.
Like I said before I came here with the dream and nowhere to lay my head so as soon as I touch la reality setting I was talking to a older lady on the bus and she suggested that I go to the county building I was never too proud to accept help but this was truly degrading I walk in the building of the county and I was hit with instant noise phone's ringing and rude stuff I applied for my food stamps and they gave me a couple suggested shelters to go seeing as though my money was limited I had no choice in the matter so I went to the shelter and I stayed for 2 months I did all of their job programs counseling they provided child care while I job searched and went to auditions and there I met the very famous tweet the singer. We bonded immediately and became quick friends she had been in the program for a total of 6 months and now she had everything she needed and moved to a project apartment in Inglewood. I was sad to see her go but she offered me a place to lay my head until I got on my feet and that's just what I did. Even though she didn't charge me rent I feel obligated to pay her something so I gave her $500 out of the seven I had saved up. The first night we moved in we laughed we drank we ate and Jason was happy to be out of the shelter I was grateful for her and she had dreams as well of becoming a singer. She met a friend of Devante swings and was introduced to Missy Elliott and Timberland and the rest was history. Told her my dreams of becoming an actress and I was willing to be an extra as long as I was somewhere on the screen she helped me tremendously and offered the start of money to get me an agent my first agent was trash her name was Betty Sue she got me hoodrat rolls hooker rolls crack addict rolls anything demeaning but I was grateful that I was working in the field so I took them all. One day I met a white chick named Amber we were both going for the role of a cracked out hooker from Memphis and during our lunch break we chatted and talked about the industry she told me well there's one way to get ahead you can sleep your way to the top many of the grades have done it hell I'm even ready to start she said sign me up I'll get plowed for a big movie roll I mean I'm getting plowed now bye low level pay workers making less than your average Joe doing 9:00 to 5:00 so why not give it up for a better future I took in what she said although I have my pride I had bills to pay moves to make in a child to raise. The following month I checked my son into school and took him to a local pediatrician. I didn't want sweet to give me all of her signing bonus money so I was working hard to pull my own weight. She was gone a lot now on tour or in the studio so me and Jason were left in the apartment she had a lot so it was just like having my own place. It was peaceful for the most part outside of the genttoness of the area. One day one tweet came back from touring with Missy and Timberland she asked me if I wanted to go to an industry party I had never been nor did I have a babysitter but her other industry friend had a nanny so Jason would be good once we dropped him off at her house I tried to make up an excuse that I didn't have clothes but we went straight to the mall and she balled out on me I was so happy I never had anything new I didn't steal . And there I met John Singleton he was watching me from across the room he said he loved my charismatic attitude and how my personality filled the wrong he gave me his number and I thought he was joking when he said he was thinking about staring me in the film known today as baby boy back then it was just called homeboy although I thought it was a joke I jumped at the chance to audition for him officially with some other well-known producers and I got the role and my life was changed forever the movie starred me Snoop Dogg and Tyrese Gibson a young singer from Watts California he and I became friends by the time the movie had wrapped and we exchanged information and said that we would always keep in touch and that is just what we have done. After the movie he went on to become a pretty big well-known singer himself and he kept his word and didn't forget about me he would come and pick me up and take me and my son out for lunch and basketball games. I was his senior by 5 years so he called me often asking for advice about his career and his love life. I was so excited when he told me he was going to star in another movie in 2005 called Waist Deep that I jumped at the chance to go to the premiere. And there I met Megan Good.
And as you can imagine at the time she was The It Girl and everybody wanted a piece but she wasn't interested in any of the men there turns out little old me. I had caught her eye . We exchanged info hooked up a couple times. But I wasn't interested in being in the closet so we didn't work out but we talked a lot over the phone for the next weeks or so. She introduced me to some people who landed me in Future movie roles . We lossed contact soon after she started dating a pastor.
After that I played in the movie called Hustle and flow produced by John Singleton and Stephanie Lane. Starring Terrence Howard, he was cast to be my pimp. I was very excited to actually be working with a real actor for the first time and More Than A Little Star struck. My agent called me and told me I landed the role of the hooker from Memphis I had auditioned for when I had met the white girl Amber prior. With the success of that movie I was able to move out the hood and into Torrance California. It was not Hollywood but it was a far cry from where I had been living previously with Tweet. She went on to wrap up her second studio album It's Me Again and we stayed in contact and we are friends to this day.
Somehow after the success of that movie Work was still hard to come by so after that I was back to doing various low budget films. The next year in 2007 Tyrese invited me to another movie premiere for the take. There I met other movie producers and was introduced to Tyler Perry. Naturally I asked him if he wouldn't mind casting me in any of his plays or movies. He told me I was too good for a play but that he would keep in touch with me and as soon as he had a movie role I would be the first to call but I still would need to audition there at the audition I was met with a couple dealers celebrities and a few singers one of them being Fantasia Barrino. I had only known about her from American Idol when she won in 2004. I had no idea she was ever interested in acting so to see her there at the casting call was more than a surprise. Later I Googled her and learned that she had been in two films and a play or two but nothing major. She was nothing I expected her to be. She was outgoing, funny and humble. We didn't talk very much but the interaction I did have with her was a lasting one. We exchanged numbers and contacts and she invited me to one of her shows on her upcoming tour .
The girl had Talent she could sing her head off so I knew she would be a perfect fit for Tyler so I was sure she would get the role instead of I. But I was wrong and Tyler's studio called me back and told me I landed the role but that.
Tyler Perry had some family issues so the date was pushed back for the film into the year 2011. And the rest is history I no longer considered myself a struggling actress .I went on to play in his movie I Can Do Bad All By Myself and from there I worked other movie roles and eventually I was laid back to Oprah Winfrey through Tyler Perry who casted me in the role of Shug Avery in the color purple.
