‘Empire’ Star Taraji P. Henson Lands New Role As Math Genius

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We all know the genius of Taraji P. Henson as Cookie Lyon on Empire. But now, you’ve got to get ready to see Henson as a real genius — a math genius. Henson will star in the upcoming movie Hidden Figures as mathematics genius Katherine Johnson, according to Variety.

The movie will be an adaptation of the book Hidden Figures: The Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly. The story centers around Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn and Mary Jackson, the three brilliant minds behind sending astronaut John Glenn into orbit. In 1962, Glenn became the first man to orbit the Earth on the Friendship 7 mission.

This project is so important. Honored to portray #KatherineJohnson Katherine G. Johnson (born August 26, 1918) is an American physicist, space scientist, and mathematician who contributed to America’s aeronautics and space programs with the early application of digital electronic computers at NASA. Known for accuracy in computerized celestial navigation, she calculated the trajectory for Project Mercury and the 1969 Apollo 11 flight to the Moon. #blackhistorymonth 💋💋💋
A photo posted by taraji p henson (@tarajiphenson) on Feb 10, 2016 at 6:12pm PST

It’s a role that definitely means something to Henson and she’s proud to take it on. “This project is so important,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “Honored to portray Katherine Johnson.”
Fox 2000 will release the movie in theaters on Jan. 13, 2017.
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