Taraji P. Henson reveals she was offered $75K for an Oscar-nominated role after asking for $500K

Taraji P. Henson is one of the most talented Black actresses who has grown to become a mainstay on screens for over two decades. Her breakthrough in acting came when she featured in the 2001 classic “Baby Boy.” Since then, she has not looked back.

She has been featured in “The Color Purple”, the most anticipated movie of 2023 set to be released in theaters on December 25. The movie, directed by Blitz Bazawule, sees Henson play Shug Avery. Reflecting on her career path in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, she highlighted the pay challenges in the film industry.

The actress revealed she was offered $75,000 after initially requesting $500,000 for a role that later earned her an Oscar nomination. It was a big role opposite Brad Pitt in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” released in 2008. Henson had then starred in “Baby Boy”, and was a rising star in Hollywood.

“I wasn’t even being greedy. I knew that I was up and coming, but surely I know that I can make you $500,000 with my fanbase,” Henson shared on CBS Sunday Morning. 

She said she was offered $75,000 but fought and fought until she was paid $150,000. The movie went on to earn her an  Oscar nomination for “Best Supporting Actress.” She has gone on to act in attention-grabbing movies and series like Hidden Figures where she acted as NASA scientist Katherine Johnson and as Cookie Lyon in Fox’s “Empire.” 

While acting has been Henson’s passion, she also had an eye for entrepreneurship, particularly the hair care market said to be worth an estimated $77.15 billion.

She is behind the beauty line TPH by Taraji. She reportedly started with hair care products made to nurture scalps and later added a luxurious body care range. According to her, she was opened to the business opportunity by a friend in her bathroom cabinet.

She had created her own formula to cleanse and protect her scalp and had asked her friend to try it, who instantly loved it. And that was when she realized she could actually make a fortune out of her skills while providing solutions to others. From her bathroom cabinet, she started making her homemade products for consumers around the world.