Taraji P. Henson is going au naturel!
The "Empire" star, who is known for rocking crazy wigs, weaves and colorful clothing on-screen as Cookie Lyon, strips it all off for a stunning shoot in CR Fashion Book.
In one pic, the 45-year-old actress shows off her natural hair as she sits against a "Cookie"-emblazoned wall in a gorgeous halter gown with sheer sleeves.
Another snapshot gives fans a closer look at her corn-rows, which are easy to miss as she also nearly exposes herself by rocking a hand-bra.
In the accompanying interview, Henson explains that it was never her initial plan to go completely natural.
"So I'm trying on the clothes and the silk scarf I have on my head slips off, and I say, 'Hey, look at my cornrows, aren't they beautiful?' [Photographer] Bruce Weber is standing there and he goes, 'We'll shoot that,'" she explains. "And I go, 'What? We'll shoot what?' And he says, 'We'll shoot your hair just like that, it's beautiful.'"
"Part of me was like, No, no, no, NO! This is the hair no one is supposed to see," she admits. "This is like behind-closed doors hair. I feel naked. I feel like a plucked chicken…or a wet one. A baby chicken! But Bruce says to me, 'It's not about the hair, it's your face.' So I just decided to trust the artist's vision. As an actress that's what we do."
Taraji took to Instagram to explain why she decided to trust the photographer. "I saw the glimmer in his eyes when he asked," she captioned the post. "As an artist I knew he was inspired. So I decided not to block art and just let it be… free."
Lookin' good, Cookie!
