Taraji Henson earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress when she starred opposite Brad Pitt in David Fincher’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”

Her recent film credits include the hugely successful “Karate Kid” opposite Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan; “Date Night” with Tina Fey and Steve Carrell; Tyler Perry’s “I Can Do Bad All by Myself,” for which she received the 2009 Diversity Award for Best Actress; “Talk to Me” opposite Don Cheadle; and the ensemble action drama “Smokin’ Aces” with Ben Affleck and Alicia Keys. Henson was named Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Feature Film by the Black Movie Awards and received the BET Best Actress nod for her performance as Shug in the gutsy drama “Hustle & Flow,” also starring Terrence Howard. Additionally, she has starred in Sony’s “Not Easily Broken” opposite Morris Chestnut; “Hurricane Season” with Forest Whitaker; Tyler Perry’s “The Family That Preys;” John Singleton’s “Four Brothers” with Mark Wahlberg and Andre 3000; and “Something New” with Simon Baker and Sanaa Lathan.

Henson stars in the upcoming “Peep World,” playing Rainn Wilson’s love interest; “The Good Doctor” with Orlando Bloom; “Once Fallen” co-starring Ed Harris; and “Larry Crowne” for director and star Tom Hanks. She is currently in production in New Orleans on the biopic “From the Rough,” about the first female head coach of an NCAA Division I men’s golf team.

On television, Henson was a series regular on David E. Kelley’s “Boston Legal” and recurred on ABC’s “Eli Stone.” She was featured in Jamie Foxx’s video “Just Like Me,” and also appeared in Estelle’s video “Pretty Please.”

Henson made her singing debut in “Hustle & Flow” and performed the film’s Academy Award–winning song, “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp,” on the Oscar telecast.

Born and raised in Washington, D.C., the Howard University graduate resides in Los Angeles with her son. Henson has a strong dedication to helping disabled and less fortunate children, and reveals, “I always stress to kids to have faith in themselves — the greatest recipe for success is self confidence.”