Taraji P. Henson Makes History At The Critics Choice Awards

Source: Tommaso Boddi / Getty

The critics have spoken!
Taraji P. Henson made history at last night’s Critics Choice Television Awards, as the first Black woman to win Best Actress In A Drama Series for her role as Cookie Lyon on Empire. In a highly competitive race, Henson beat out fellow nominees Viola Davis (How To Get Away With Murder), Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife) and Keri Russell (The Americans).  Visibly surprised by her win, Taraji hugged Queen Latifah (who was nominated for HBO’s Bessie) as she made her way on stage.
“Thank you to Fox Network, you’re bold. You took a shot, you took a risk. That’s what art is about.  Love her or hate her, even when she beats her son with a broom!” Taraji jokingly said in her acceptance speech.  Empire has been ratings gold for Fox, which the Season 1 finale clocking close to 19 million viewers. Season 2 will premiere September 23rd.

Jussie Smollett, who plays middle son Jamal Lyons, tweeted his congratulations to his on-screen mom: “No one will ever understand how proud and happy I am for @TheRealTaraji on her insanely deserved well deserved win for Critics Choice.  I love you so much!”
Other big winners included actress Lorraine Touissant who took home a statuette in the Best Supporting Actress in a Drama series for her role as the villainous Vee in the Netflix hit show Orange Is The Black and David Oyelowo (Selma)  as a mentally unstable war veteran in the HBO movie Nightingale. While Latifah didn’t land a win for her role as blues singer Bessie Smith, “Bessie” won Best Movie or Limited Series.  This was a significant win for its director Dee Rees, who started out as an intern for Spike Lee while a film student at New York University, and has gone on to blaze her own trail in the industry. Rees’ next project is a TV adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns which is based on the Great Migration of the 20th century. Shonda Rhimes will executive produce.
Below is a list of last night’s winners:
BEST DRAMA SERIES
The Americans (FX)
BEST COMEDY SERIES
Silicon Valley (HBO)
DRAMA SERIES
Taraji P. Henson
Empire (Fox)
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Bob Odenkirk
Better Call Saul (AMC)
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jeffrey Tambor
Transparent (Amazon)
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Amy Schumer
Inside Amy Schumer (Comedy Central)
BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Bessie (HBO)
BEST ACTRESS IN A MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
Frances McDormand
Olive Kitteridge (HBO)
BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
David Oyelowo
Nightingale (HBO)
BEST REALITY SERIES HOST
Cat Deeley
So You Think You Can Dance (Fox)
BEST REALITY COMPETITION SERIES
Face Off (Syfy)
BEST REALITY SERIES
Shark Tank (ABC)
GUEST PERFORMER IN A DRAMA SERIES
Sam Elliott
Justified (FX)
BEST GUEST PERFORMER IN A COMEDY SERIES
Bradley Whitford
Transparent (Amazon)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Allison Janney
Mom (CBS)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
T.J. Miller
Silicon Valley (HBO)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Lorraine Toussaint
Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jonathan Banks
Better Call Saul (AMC)
GENIUS AWARD
Seth MacFarlane
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
Bill Murray
Olive Kitteridge (HBO)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
Sarah Paulson
American Horror Story: Freak Show (FX)
BEST ANIMATED SERIES
Archer (FX)
BEST TALK SHOW
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart (Comedy Central)
MOST BINGEWORTHY SERIES
The Walking Dead (AMC)