Woman on the verge of a breakthrough: Taraji P. Henson was once an everyday single mom trying to make her acting caareer a reality. With a little push from her dad, she's no longer just dreaming of stardom

Taraji P. Henson's playing a blushing prostitute in this summer's highly anticipated indie Hustle & Flow may not conjure up future images of her as a traditional leading lady, but it undeniably shows her range and commitment to telling Black stories. "I still consider myself an underdog in this game, and Hustle & Flow is full of underdogs," says Henson, who costars in the story of a pimp who attempts to escape life on the street through rap music. "I grew up in the hood. Hos and pimps exist. We need to reach the people who are still there, who are still left behind."

Growing up in southeast Washington, D.C., and trying to make a rocky relationship with her son's father work, Henson endured her own urban drama when he died unexpectedly in 1997. "I had my one bad boy. That was my son's father, my first love, and he's not with us, God rest his soul," says Henson. "I don't even live like that anymore." With a Howard University degree in theater arts and some strong advice from her father ("He told me, 'How do you expect to catch fish on dry land? You need to go where the jobs are.'"), Henson moved with her young son, Marcell, near the Pacific Ocean's coastal town--Hollywood.

Since arriving in California, Henson has played a variety of characters, including her gritty breakout portrayal of a devoted baby mama in John Singleton's Baby Boy (2001). Recently she played a more mature, tough homicide detective on Lifetime's The Division. And Henson makes a conservative turn August 12 in Four Brothers, a movie that pairs her again with R & B singer-turned-actor Tyrese and director John Singleton. "Andre 3000 plays my husband, and he likes to say my molecules move fast. I'm always hustling. I never put my eggs in one basket," she says.

Henson's high energy on the set comes to a cautious pause in her love life. When playing the dating game, Henson says the brothers she entertains must have basics: a job, their own home, car and health insurance, no legal convictions, and a whole lot of patience. "I have a 90-day probation period before I'm intimate with a man," says Henson, 34, on the phone from her home. "I cannot separate things like 'Oh, this is just sex,' and he goes his way and I go mine."

Henson has her eyes on a few projects, including performing her true love: comedy. "I'm ready to laugh. I'm sick of crying," says Henson, who plays Sanaa Lathan's funny sidekick in next year's Something New. "For me, acting is a passion. God gave me this gift. It would be like slapping Him in the face if I didn't try to use it."

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