Taraj P. Henson Covers Uptown Magazine; Dishes on Her Jealousy Of Other Actresses

Taraj P. Henson is at the top of her game with a new hit show Empire. The talented actress covers the February / March edition of Uptown Magazine where she opens up about Hollywood, building her own empire and her jealousy of other actresses.  Read excerpts from her interview below.

On Jealously and Putting Her Ego in Check: "I used to have this crazy thing with Amy Adams...You see her [consistently] getting nominated, as she should, because Amy does good work. But, it’s like, ‘Well, I did good work too.’ But if you choose to stay in that place then you become miserable. It’s a pity party and nobody cares. I’m human, so I’ve done it. But I check that because it’s ego and it’s the devil."


On "Empire" Exposing "Black" Issues: "That’s what art is supposed to do: expose this shit. You know, we’re dealing with subject matter that’s not really dealt with...so let’s lift the carpet up and deal with this dirt. It’s not like we bashed Barack Obama and the show went off. No, Lucious Lyon (Terrence Howard) jumped in his [son’s] ass. That’s real life stuff. So I’m glad you’re mad."
On Being Cookie Lyons: "Cookie is a lot. She wears me out but I know this woman. I’ve done my research inside and out. I took Cookie from Lee and made her my own."

On Owning Her Success And "This" Moment: "I’ve come a long way from ‘Aye, that’s that girl from Baby Boy’ to now people know how to pronounce my name. But I’m just scratching the surface. For whatever reason, God gave me this life, and I’m not gon’ fuck it up.”