--- description: Find out why Taraji P. Henson is one of the 100 most influential people of 2024. title: Taraji P. Henson: The 100 Most Influential People of 2024 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta113b9219728302b/698a559bcabb1d7834e54017/taraji-p-henson-time100-2024.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 17, 2024 # Taraji P. Henson by Mary J. Blige  AB+DM for TIME Even before I knew her, I already felt like Taraji P. Henson was my friend. She was an actor I loved to watch, and I always felt like I could relate to her because she perfectly embodied who we are as women. I couldn’t wait to meet her. And when I finally did, it was on and popping from there. Taraji fit right into my crew. What I love most about her is that she is [unapologetically herself](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/05/movies/taraji-p-henson-the-color-purple.html "undefined"). Taraji is a real woman—she doesn’t bite her tongue, and she’s not afraid to stand up for what she believes in. She’s always true and authentic, and she’s just as fearless onscreen, which is why she’s one of my favorite actors. Watching her commit 1 million percent to whatever character she’s portraying is amazing. Her courage really sets her apart, in Hollywood and in real life. **Read More:** [_Taraji P. Henson Knows Her Worth_](https://time.com/collection/women-of-the-year/6694010/taraji-p-henson/ "undefined") Even though she doesn’t need any advice, I’ll say this to my beautiful friend: Taraji, my sis, keep being yourself and keep doing what you’re doing. There’s nobody like you. I love you. _Blige is a Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated singer-songwriter_  Photograph by AB+DM for TIME [_Find the 2024 TIME100 covers here in the TIME cover store_](https://timecoverstore.com/collections/2024+time+100 "undefined") _Styling by Wayman + Micah, assisted by Lee Hartnett; hair by Tym Wallace for True Indian Hair; make-up by Saisha Beecham; production by Sienna Brown_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964139/taraji-p-henson-2024/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964139/taraji-p-henson-2024/"},"headline":"Taraji P. Henson","datePublished":"2024-04-17T11:01:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T02:27:56.274Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964139/taraji-p-henson-2024/","keywords":["TIME100","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades","2024TIME100","T100ICONS2024"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta113b9219728302b/698a559bcabb1d7834e54017/taraji-p-henson-time100-2024.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta113b9219728302b/698a559bcabb1d7834e54017/taraji-p-henson-time100-2024.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964139/taraji-p-henson-2024/","name":"Taraji P. Henson"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME100 2024 | Taraji P. Henson","description":"Taraji P. Henson is on the 2024 TIME100 list.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/wmXWhtUI/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-04-17T11:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/wmXWhtUI.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964139/taraji-p-henson-2024/","duration":"PT5M","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2024/6964139/taraji-p-henson-2024/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```