The Real Cookie Lyon, actress Taraji P. Henson has been adored by many. This past Halloween there were countless Cookie costumes, making the celebration more entertaining than usual.
The real Cookie Lyon, actress Taraji P. Henson does not even like repeating her past punchlines as she is far too authentic to be lost for words. While many of us consider Cookie Lyon on Empire ‘as real as it gets’ some have argued the character is an imitation of their reality.
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| Lydia Harris Death Row |
Devon Maloney’s Vanity Fair article ‘Meet the “Real” Cookie Lyon‘ explores the life of Lydia Harris comparing it to Cookie’s life on Empire. In 2005 Harris won a lawsuit against Suge Knight after she proved that she co-founded Death Row Records with $1.5 million from her husband, Michael “Harry-O” Harris a former cocaine kingpin.
Michael “Harry-O” Harris is currently incarcerated, serving 28-years, on drug and attempted murder charges, similar to Lucious Lyon. Harris grew up in South Central Los Angeles where he started selling drugs at a very young age. Soon after meeting Lydia Michael decided to go legit, producing ‘Checkmates’ a broadway hit starring Denzel Washington and Vanessa Williams.
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| Denzel Washington Michael ‘Harry-O’ Harris |
Then there was Sophia Eggleston, the 53 year-old from Detroit that sued Fox for $300 million arguing that Lee Daniels stole her life story. Eggleston argues that she gave Lee Daniels a copy of her book and he used her life to create Cookie Lyon. A decision has not been made on the case.
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| DMK Fox Next Empire Artist |
In 2007 DMK auditioned for Showtime at the Apollo and was featured as “Apollo Kid Stars of Tomorrow”, a fitting title considering DMK may soon be stars on Fox’s hip-hop series, Empire.