Taraji P. Henson to Host the BET AWARDS

BET has announced Academy Award®-nominated and Golden Globe®-winning actor, writer, director, producer, and philanthropist Taraji P. Henson will return to host the "BET AWARDS" LIVE from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The "BET AWARDS" was the #1 cable award show among all adults 18-49 in 2021. "BET AWARDS" 2022 airs LIVE on BET on Sunday, June 26 at 8 PM ET/PT.

"I am honored to return as the host of the BET AWARDS and share the stage with so many powerful and prolific artists; you can even say it is the 'empire' of Black Excellence," said Taraji P. Henson. "Working with amazing partners like Scott and Connie at BET and Jesse Collins Entertainment is a creative's dream. I can't wait to celebrate Black music, entertainment, and culture with our viewers on what will be one unforgettable night."

"Taraji P. Henson is the personification of Black excellence, and we are excited to collaborate with the phenomenal multi-talented stage and screen actress to host the ultimate celebration of Black culture again this year," said Connie Orlando, EVP Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy at BET. "For over two decades, the BET AWARDS has been home to Black brilliance, talent, and creativity, providing unforgettable cultural moments, and we look forward to raising the bar for BET AWARDS 2022."

Most recently Henson's TPH Entertainment struck an overall deal with BET Studios, an unprecedented studio venture launched in September 2021 powered by the infrastructure and financing of BET and Paramount to produce original content for an array of internal buyers, including Paramount+, SHOWTIME, CBS, Nickelodeon, BET+, and BET. Additionally, BET Studios places programming on third-party platforms seeking best-in-class content from both leading and rising Black creatives.

Connie Orlando, EVP, Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy will oversee the annual show, with Jamal Noisette, VP, Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy to Co-Executive Produce for BET. Jesse Collins Entertainment is the production company for the show with Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay serving as Executive Producers.

Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actor, filmmaker, and activist Taraji P. Henson quickly rose to fame after her breakout performance in the critically acclaimed film HUSTLE & FLOW.

In 2020, Henson wrapped her iconic run as "Cookie Lyon" in Fox's hit musical drama EMPIRE, which has earned her three Emmy nominations, a Golden Globe Award, a Critics Choice Award, and three BET Awards.

Prior credits include the Academy Award-nominated film HIDDEN FIGURES, Tyler Perry's ACRIMONY and THE FAMILY THAT PREYS, PROUD MARY, THINK LIKE A MAN, TALK TO ME opposite Don Cheadle, SMOKIN' ACES with Ben Affleck and Alicia Keys, HURRICANE SEASON opposite Forest Whitaker, NO GOOD DEED opposite Idris Elba, LARRY CROWNE with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, TAKEN FROM ME, and THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON with Brad Pitt, for which she earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Henson also lent her voice to Disney's RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET: WRECK IT RALPH 2. In 2019, Henson starred in Paramount's WHAT MEN WANT from director Adam Shankman, and THE BEST OF ENEMIES opposite Sam Rockwell. In 2020 she starred in the Netflix film COFFEE & KAREEM with Ed Helms.

Most recently, Henson starred as Miss. Hannigan in NBC's Annie Live! in December of 2021, for which she has already won an NAACP award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Limited Series or Dramatic Special. She will be heard lending her voice to MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU coming this summer and is currently in production on Blitz Bazawule's THE COLOR PURPLE, where she will star as Shug Avery.

In Fall 2020, Henson announced her production company TPH Entertainment, with producing partner Christine Conley which has a first-look deal with Twentieth Century Fox TV. TPH Entertainment has previously announced several projects including TWO-FACED with Bron Entertainment, which Henson will also direct, marking her feature film directorial debut. They also have Alessandro Camon's TIME ALONE, with Henson will also star in and SORCERORITY, which they will co-produce with GAME CHANGER Films and Gabrielle Union's I'll Have Another Productions.

In October 2016, Henson released her New York Times bestselling novel "Around The Way Girl," a memoir about her family and friends, her determination to make it to Hollywood, and the importance of living your own truth.

In Fall 2018, she launched the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation in honor of her late father. The organization provides scholarships to African-American students majoring in mental health, offers mental health services to youth in urban schools, and works to lower the recidivism rates of African-American men and women. Henson, along with her best friend and foundation partner, Tracie Jade, recently co-hosted the Facebook Watch series on mental health called PEACE OF MIND WITH TARAJI, for which they received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for "Outstanding Informative Talk Show Host."