As a series star on ‘Empire,’ Taraji P. Henson has played a character that has been through a lot. A fan of hers has reached out to the actress on Twitter, sharing how she had been inspired by Henson to stop harming herself and cutting her body.
"You might not even know u saved me from myself," the fan tweeted. "I used to cut but u gave me the power to stop."
Henson responded by turning the attention to God.
"Baby U R important! GOD hand picked U 2 B here," the 45-year-old actress replied. "U have a purpose! KNOW THAT GOD IS! No more hurting yourself."
The entertainer has always been vocal about her faith in God to which she attributes her success in Hollywood.
After 20 years of acting, Henson was honored with her first Golden Globe Award for best performance by an actress in a television series in January.
Following her triumphant Golden Globe Award win for taking on the role of Cookie Lyon on ‘Empire,' the Washington, D.C. native explained the spiritual aspect of acting in an interview with Extra.
"That is our soul we expose to the world, so whenever people receive it and people go, 'Oh, we want to give you something,' it always feels good," she explained.
The actress has also previously discussed the impact of her Christian on her career.
"It has definitely kept me sane and continues to keep me sane because I know how I got here. I moved to California with $700 in my pocket with my son and a dream and faith," Henson said in an interview with Christian Post. "And every time a door would close I would pray to God, like 'I know you've got a plan for me because I'm still here.' There's a plan for me and I believe in that."
Similarly, she also opened up about feeling envious of actress Amy Adams and how her own Christian faith helped overcome her negative emotions.
"I used to have this crazy thing with Amy Adams. You see her consistently getting nominated, as she should, because Amy does good work," she said. "But, it's like, 'Well, I did good work too.' But if you choose to stay in that place then you become miserable."
"It's a pity party and nobody cares. I'm human, so I've done it," ‘the ‘Hustle & Flow’ actress added. "But I check that because it's ego and it's the devil."
Despite her Golden Globe win and an Oscar nomination as well as other awards and accomplishments, Henson admitted that there came a point in her life when such milestones were not enough to make her feel secure. During such moments, she called to God.
“Whenever I thought I was supposed to get something and it didn't fall through, I would just fall back to God and be like 'OK, well what else. Because whatever You've got must be better than this,'" she recalled. "And then it is, it always is."
Meanwhile, Henson’s fellow cast members in ‘Empire,’ including Terrence Howard and Gabourey Sidibe, have begun the prep work last month at the Cinespace Chicago Film Studios to begin filming for the third season.
The premiere date for ‘Empire’ season three is yet to be announced.
