Taraji P. Henson welcomed her son, Marcell Johnson, when she was in college

Taraji P. Henson and her son, Marcell Johnson, in 2015. Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

The Golden Globe winner previously told PEOPLE that her son, Marcell Johnson, is the “greatest gift” she’s ever received. Henson got pregnant with her son during her junior year of college. “People said, ‘This is it for her.’ But I did not stop. I never missed a class,” the Howard University alumna recalled in a 2015 interview with Glamour.

Henson had her 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 boy in her arms as she walked across the stage at her graduation in 1995. Then, to pursue her dream of becoming an actress, the Empire star moved out to Los Angeles with her young son.

“People were like, ‘Are you crazy, moving to California with your son?’ My father was like, ‘Leave him home.’ I said, ‘I can’t leave my son at home.’ [And eventually] my father said, ‘That’s your 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦. That’s your blessing. He’s going to be your strength.’ And you know what? He was,” Henson told Glamour.

He looked just like his dad when he was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧Taraji P. Henson and her son, Marcell Johnson. Taraji P. Henson Instagram

Henson shares Marcell with William LaMarr “Mark” Johnson, whom she met when she was 17 years old. The What Men Want actress wrote in her memoir that she went into labor with her son on Mother’s Day in 1994. According to Henson, Marcell was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 “looking just like his daddy.”

“They’ve got the same head and eyes, the same thick, hard, leathery hands,” she wrote in Around the Way Girl.

He attended his mom’s college graduationTaraji P. Henson at her graduation holding her son, Marcell Johnson. Taraji P. Henson Instagram

He is his mom’s “strength”Taraji P. Henson and her son, Marcell Johnson, in 2019. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP

Henson didn’t initially tell her son the truth about his father’s death

Henson ended her relationship with Marcell’s father after he became “physically abusive” one night. The Baby Boy actress’ ex was “stabbed to death” when their son was 9 years old. In an episode of Facebook Watch’s Peace of Mind with Taraji, the Hidden Figures star shared that she could not tell her Marcell, at the time, that his father had been murdered.

He has a “good heart”Taraji P. Henson and her son, Marcell Johnson, in 2022. Taraji P. Henson Instagram

During an installment of The Jess Cagle Interview, Henson opened up about the fear she carries as a mother. “He has a really good heart,” she said of her son. “It’s just hard to know that the world can pick him out and turn him into a monster at any given moment.”

He makes music

In 2015, Henson supported the release of her son’s EP, The Dikembe EP. “#SOPROUD of my #BabyBoy follow him please. He’s about to drop some  ” she wrote on Instagram. Marcell posts about his music on his personal Instagram, which Henson has tagged on her respective page.

He’s modeled in a New York Fashion Week showTaraji P. Henson and her son, Marcell Johnson. Taraji P. Henson Instagram

He’s made appearances with his momTaraji P. Henson and her son, Marcell Johnson, in 2014. Jason Kempin/Getty

Over the years, Marcell has attended events with his famous mother. In 2014, he accompanied Henson to a screening of From The Rough in Hollywood, and joined his mom at the 2015 Emmy Awards.