The Award-Winning Actress is representing for all the mothers in our Mother’s Day Cover as she gives us the real in navigating motherhood’s up and down, her role in Abbott Elementary, and putting her health first

“We need each other. We ain’t shit without each other. This world is against us. We are at the bottom of every pay grade, everywhere you go, the Black woman is the last to be thought about. We don’t have time to compete with each other, to go against each other, to fight with each other.” Taraji P. Henson

HelloBeautiful, a digital content property owned by iONE digital has released its latest cover featuring the unparalleled Taraji P. Henson. In this HelloBeautiful digital cover feature, Henson opens about her personal journey in motherhood and how being a mom has translated throughout her career. The Golden Globe winning Actress sat with HelloBeautiful to share details about being a single mom to a 28- year-old son all while navigating her career. Henson states “No one can prepare you for that. I don’t care who talks to you, no one can prepare you, you just got to jump in and get your feet and your hands dirty. You learn as you go because there is no book that can teach you. There is no book that can prepare you, really, because everybody’s story and circumstances are different.”

While giving us a front row seat to her life as a mother, she also provided an inside look on starring beside Quinta Brunson in the popular sitcom, Abbot Elementary, and how being a mom has finally come full circle in her acting career. Henson states “At first it was like, ah, mom? Why can’t I be her sister?,” Henson says. “Then I looked at her age and I said, Bitch, because you old enough to be her mother. Like, stop playing,” she says with a laugh. “I’m not going to fight age. I’m going to age gracefully.”

With a career that keeps her moving and a successful hair care line, the Academy Award Winning actress makes sure that she is prioritizing her health and setting a stellar example for Black Women everywhere. Henson states” I think we are under the misconception that just because someone is small that means they’re healthy,” she says. “Or just because someone is on the heavier side, that they’re not healthy, and that couldn’t be furthest from the truth. I was small, I was within my weight from my height and my age, and I was unhealthy.” Untangling fact from fiction is essential to the future of Black women’s wellness. Maybe one day society, and by proxy, the entertainment world, will deprioritize aesthetics and embrace vitality. I’ll bow my head, but should I hold my breath?

Hub Credits:
Photographer: Dalvin Adams
Digi Tech: Andrew Ngu
Cover Story: Brooklyn R. White
Managing Editor: Shamika Sanders
SVP of Content: Allison McGevna
Photo Assistant: Nick Sutjungdro
Makeup Artist: Saisha Beecham
Hair Stylist: Tym Wallace for Mastermind Management Group
Wardrobe Stylist: Wayman + Micah
BTS Video: Melody Araujo, Sam Akinyele
Video Editor: Tyler Harp
Creative Director: Jordan Benston
Production: The Oracle Media

Fashion Credits:
Look 1: Jean Louis Sabaji
Look 2: Gurav Gupta
Look 3: Jean Louis Sabaji

About HelloBeautiful

REAL WOMEN = REAL BEAUTY. We take the superficiality out of beauty by providing a space for Black women to explore the subject from the inside out. We share trends, stories, and advice that is honest, optimistic, and most importantly real. Our goal is to change the beauty world for Black women, and not the other way around. HelloBeautiful.com is where Black women go to talk about themselves shamelessly. We share, confess, indulge, encourage and celebrate each other — while indulging our guilty pleasures. HelloBeautiful embraces the diversity of today’s woman and allows her to be perfectly flawed and fabulous. At HelloBeautiful we believe that  women are diverse and dynamic. We know that the woman who works tirelessly for women’s rights and the woman who’s rocking the latest trends are not mutually exclusive. We believe that Black women are smart and fun, ambitious and caring, determined and loving. At HelloBeautiful we do it all and ‘we make it look good.”

About iONE Digital

iONE Digital is the #1 digital platform for the Black, Latino and New Urban communities, reaching millions each month through its suite of social, local radio and highly targeted news, entertainment, video and lifestyle content offerings. It owns and operates a number of branded destinations, including Cassius Life, GlobalGrind (Millennials), HelloBeautiful (Women), NewsOne (Affluent), Bossip (Pop Culture), Hip Hop Hired and MadamNoire, as well as social networking sites such as BlackPlanet and BlackPlanetRadio. iONE Digital was launched in 2008 by Radio One, Inc. [NASDAQ: ROIA and ROIAK, radio-one.com] to complement its existing portfolio of media companies targeting Black Americans.