After graduating college and leaving an unhealthy relationship, Henson moved with her son and only $700 to Los Angeles to chase her dreams. She worked an office job while auditioning, and landed her first TV role in 1996 on kids' show Smart Guy, which lead to another role on Sister, Sister. She then spent the next few years making individual appearances in episodes of other TV shows like E.R. Henson finally got her big movie break when she was cast in Baby Boy in 2001. Then came the role many see as the precursor to her spot on Empire: she was cast as the soft-spoken, loyal, and inherently talented Shug in Hustle and Flow alongside Terrence Howard. She continued to land major film roles and in 2008 was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Academy Award for her performance in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (via Biography).

But perhaps her most challenging role has been the one that set everyone abuzz when Empire premiered in 2015. "Cookie is the reason I drink," the actress jokingly told Glamour magazine. "She uses every emotion inside of me. She uses everything. When I saw the scripts, I was nervous, but then I realized that if I based everything in her reality and her pain, people would empathize instead of judge," she said. She was right. Fans fell in love with her and her peers awarded her a Golden Globe for her performance.