Empire producer Danny Strong says it took director Lee Daniels less than a minute to decide Taraji P. Henson was going to be Cookie Lyon. “About 30 seconds into Taraji being Cookie, Lee whispered to me, ‘She’s Cookie right?’” Strong told Entertainment Weekly. “Then [Lee said to Henson]: ‘All right bitch, you got the part.’” [EW]
Madame Tussauds San Francisco will debut a wax figure of Orange Is the New Black and ESSENCE cover star Laverne Cox, this month, making her the first-ever transgender figure in the museum’s history. [TIME]
Ice Cube, Anthony Anderson, Cendric the Entertainer, Nicki Minaj, Eve, Regina Hall…the list of stars in this third installment is endless. The movie will be released in 2016. [Youtube]
Doreetha Daniels can add college graduate to her already long list of accomplishments. The 99-year-old Los Angeles grandmother earned her Bachelors degree from the College of Canyons. “99, here I am. I accomplished what I wanted to do, and this is my dream come true,” Daniels told KTLA. [KTLA]
A Las Vegas night club thought it was a-ok to advertise themselves as the perfect way for recent high school grads to pay their way through college. Owner Rick Marzullo says he has noticed more women using stripping as a way to raise money for college. What do you think: Too real or too raunchy? [The Grio]
