Taraji P. Henson doesn't act.
Taraji P. Henson . She studied acting at Howard University and began her Hollywood career in guest-roles on several television shows before making her breakthrough in Baby Boy ( 2001 ) . She received praise for playing a prostitute in Hustle & Flow ( 2005 ) and a single mother in David Fincher 's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button ( 2008 ) ; for the latter , she received Academy Award , SAG Award and Critics Choice Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress ; for the former , she received a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture nomination . In 2011 Henson starred in the Lifetime Television film Taken from Me : The Tiffany Rubin Story , which earned her a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie . Also that year , she received praise for her starring role as Katherine Johnson in the critically acclaimed drama film Hidden Figures , for which she won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture . Think Like a Man . The film stars an ensemble cast , featuring Michael Ealy , Jerry Ferrara , Meagan Good , Regina Hall , Kevin Hart , Terrence J , Taraji P. Henson , Romany Malco and Gabrielle Union .