Taraji P. Henson ages like a fine wine…she just gets better with age. Need proof? Just take a look at her slay the digital December cover of SELF Magazine.
Feast your eyes on that fro and her glow:
Source: SELF Magazine / SELF Magazine
While Taraji has always given a good interview over the years, in this cover story it feels as if the 49-year-old wasn’t afraid to take off the mask of her celebrity status and let the reader see her for the everyday Black woman that she is.
In this sit down with SELF’s Senior Health Editor Patia Braithwaite, the Golden Globe winner opened up about what some aging actresses in Hollywood wouldn’t dare speak about…menopause.
“I would get so low, really, really low, beaten, like never before,” Taraji shared.
“You may have those days [when] you’re like, ‘Oh, I just don’t feel like getting out of bed. I just want to sleep in,’ but you don’t feel heavy. I was just starting to feel heavy a lot, [like] suffocating…. It just came out of nowhere.”
Then, she started doing the math with her age and was like “‘Well, you are pushing 50, girl. At some point things are going to change.’”
Henson, who has been a fierce mental health advocate in the Black community by starting her own organization Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, also kept it 100 about her own battle with anxiety and depression and how therapy, which she calls a “necessity,” has helped.
“It was [a] time where I was like, ‘Oh, I’m just not feeling like myself anymore.’”
Thanking Empire costar Gabourey Sidibe for sharing her therapist—a sista—Taraji said she felt comfortable to share her self with her.
“When you find that right person, oh my God, the sky cracks open,” adding, the circle of friends also helped.
“Find you a group of women that are going through the same thing. Talk and laugh about it…If you sit on that toilet and you don’t flush that shit, it’s going to consume you.”
While she plays Cookie on the hit FOX drama, Taraji stressed that the “strong Black woman” archetype can be dangerous for us.
“Sometimes, the weight is just too much and to put on that facade like you are strong all the time is exactly what it is, a facade; that’s whack,” she said in the video above.
When it comes to former co-star Jussie Smollett, who she calls her “son,” she won’t turn her back on him. (Remember, he was accused of lying about a racist and homophobic attack he allegedly endured earlier this year.)
“If I’m your friend, I can’t judge you,” she stated.
“I just can’t. I could do something, and I wouldn’t want you to turn your back. We’re humans. We’re flawed. No one is perfect. I might not necessarily agree with everything, but I think every human deserves some form of humanity, some form of compassion.”
Finally, she opened about love, sharing that while her fiance, Kelvin Hayde, is 13 years her junior, she pushed him away at first, accused him of cheating and would even block his emails. But, he fought for her love and proved himself worthy.
“He had to suck in his pride and he still didn’t stop… I said, ‘That’s my husband.’”
We love it! We cannot wait for them to jump the broom.
Read Taraji’s SELF cover story in its entirety here.
Continue reading Slay! Taraji P. Henson Living Her Best Life On The ‘Gram
Slay! Taraji P. Henson Living Her Best Life On The ‘Gram
Source: Jon Kopaloff / Getty
With a wedding coming up, shooting the last season of Empire and launching her new wig line, 2019 has been a pretty good year for Taraji P. Henson.
And even better? It’s the Oscar nominee’s 49th birthday on September 11!
The Virgo is clearly happy, in love and living her best life on the ‘Gram. Take a look:
Slay! Taraji P. Henson Living Her Best Life On The ‘Gram
Source: Jon Kopaloff / Getty
With a wedding coming up, shooting the last season of Empire and launching her new wig line, 2019 has been a pretty good year for Taraji P. Henson.
And even better? It’s the Oscar nominee’s 49th birthday on September 11!
The Virgo is clearly happy, in love and living her best life on the ‘Gram. Take a look:
This content was originally published here.
