Taraji P. Henson is a television actor.
Person of Interest is an American science fiction crime drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22 , 2011 , to June 21 , 2016 , over five seasons , comprising a total of 103 episodes . Taraji P. Henson . Henson has also had an extensive career in television in series such as The Division , Boston Legal and Eli Stone . In 2015 , she began starring as Cookie Lyon on the Fox drama series Empire , for which she became the first African-American woman to win a Critics ' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series .