7 Times Taraji P. Henson Gave Us Black Love Onscreen

"I love to see Black love and I want to see more of it," the actress said.

By Brooklyn White · Updated June 9, 2022

On October 19, 2020, Taraji P. Henson confirmed her split from former NFL player Kevin Hayden during a panel discussion relationships with The Breakfast Club. The pair got engaged in 2018 and were planning on heading to the altar in 2020

During the interview, Henson mentioned that she loves Black men and more importantly, Black love. “I love to see Black love and I want to see more of it. I want to see our relationships last and make it,” she said. The actress has definitely displayed Black love onscreen for audiences worldwide all throughout her almost 20-year long film career. In honor of Henson’s hard work and dedication to portraying the realities of Black romance, let’s visit some classic films the actress has starred in with leading men we all know and love.

Baby Boy

The late John Singleton’s Baby Boy (2001) was Henson’s first film. She played Yvette, Jody’s (Tyrese Gibson) loving partner with whom he initially had a tumultuous relationship with, but they both ultimately grew from love.

Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys

Henson and Tyler Perry played longtime down-home Southern sweethearts in The Family That Preys in 2008.

Not Easily Broken

In 2009, Henson and Morris Chestnut starred in Not Easily Broken, about a couple taken to the brink and back after a tragic accident left her character in a wheelchair.

Hustle & Flow

Before they starred as exes in Empire together (wink), Henson and Terrence Howard also played love interests in 2005’s gritty hit drama Hustle & Flow.

Think Like A Man and Think Like A Man Too

Michael Ealy and Henson sizzled in both Think Like A Man (2012) and the sequel, Think Like A Man Too (2014), where they played Lauren and Dominic, unexpected partners who found true love after they threw away their own rule books and followed their hearts.

Hidden Figures

Mahershala Ali’s Jim Johnson in 2016’s Hidden Figures wooed Henson’s outspoken history-making NASA mathematician, Katherine Johnson.

What Men Want

When Henson’s headstrong character Ali pretended Will (Aldis Hodge) was her husband in What Men Want (2019) she never expected to actually fall in love, but she did and it was both hilarious and sweet to watch.