Terrence Howard was arrested on an airplane after he grabbed a flight attendant by the wrist because she wouldn’t let him take his 3-year-old daughter to the washroom.
Terrence Howard was Ashanti’s love interest in her video “Foolish.”
Born on March 11, 1969 in Chicago, Illinois, Terrence Dashon Howard and his father, Tyrone, and mother moved to Cleveland where Terrence was raised.
When Terrence was only 3, his parents took him to a department store to see Santa Claus. A fight broke out between his dad and another man, at which point his father stabbed the other man and went to jail for manslaughter. Although Terrence told
Oprah Winfrey that the fight was racially charged on her show in 2005, Terrence’s father tells an entirely different story.
Growing up, Terrence spent his time between Los Angeles, where his mother lived, and Cleveland, where his dad resided.
Terrence Howard drops out of school
After he finished high school, Terrence attended Pratt University in New York and majored in Chemical Engineering. After one year, however, Terrence abandoned his studies to become an actor after a casting director spotted him on the street.
In 1989, after having married long-time love
Lori McCommas, Howard got his shot on the hit sitcom
The Cosby Show, but most of his scenes were cut from the show, which upset him.
Howard spent the majority of the early ‘90s guest-starring on popular sitcoms like
Family Matters, Coach, New York Undercover and
Living Single. In 1992, Howard landed the role of Jackie in the TV movie about
Michael Jackson and his brothers entitled
The Jacksons: An American Dream. Although the movie didn’t do incredibly well, it was a step in the right direction for Howard.
Terrence Howard in Mr. Holland’s Opus
It wasn’t until 1995 that Terrence would get a real taste of stardom, when he got to star opposite
Richard Dreyfuss in
Mr. Holland’s Opus. That same year, Howard starred in the little-known
Lotto Land and the crime-flick
Dead Presidents.
After spending the next couple of years in TV roles and unmemorable movie roles, Terrence was getting fed up with roles that cast him as a thug, pimp or criminal, and was about to give up on acting altogether – until 1999 came around.
Malcolm Lee, brother of famed film director Spike, offered Howard the role of Quentin in
The Best Man, a movie about a bunch of old friends who get together when one of them announces they’re getting married. Howard was optimistic about other roles that might be available for him in the future and decided to continue on in Hollywood.
Terrence in Big Momma’s House
In 2000, Howard starred opposite
Nia Long and
Martin Lawrence in
Big Momma’s House, a blockbuster hit that no one saw coming.
And while 2001 began well, with Howard in a role opposite
Jennifer Lopez in
Angel Eyes, he made somewhat of a bad choice when he signed on for the movie
Glitter with famed singer
Mariah Carey. The latter film was a huge flop and even contributed to the demise of Carey’s sanity.
Lucky for Howard, his career didn’t suffer and he entered 2002 opposite
Bruce Willis in
Hart’s War and then, in 2003, starred with
Laurence Fishburne,
Orlando Jones, Lisa Bonet, and
Larenz Tate in
Biker Boyz. Unfortunately, Howard and his wife Lori were divorced and she gained custody of their three children (two daughters and one son).
Terrence Howard in Crash
But Howard still had not become a household name and had yet to a land a role that would thrust him into the spotlight. In 2004, some would say, it began to happen, as Howard starred alongside
Jamie Foxx in the Oscar-winning biopic
Ray, where he got to put his talent for playing the piano and guitar to work.
Then, in 2005, Howard starred in
Crash, in which he played Cameron, a troubled black man who deals with mild and serious forms of racism every day and, one day, ends up losing it.
Terrence does Hustle & Flow
Also in 2005, Howard ended up in a role that, in the late ‘90s, he had vowed to stay away from. Howard became Djay, a pimp who wants to change his life by becoming a rapper in the film
Hustle & Flow. The movie received so much acclaim that Howard was nominated for an Oscar and the theme song for the film won for Best Original Song.
Howard kept busy for the rest of 2005 starring in big screen flicks
Four Brothers and
Get Rich or Die Tryin’, a story loosely based on the life and times of rapper
50 Cent. And Howard made some time to star in the HBO movie
Lackawanna Blues and the Oprah Winfrey presentation, which also starred
Halle Berry,
Their Eyes Were Watching God.
Terrence Howard in The Crusaders
Not one to rest on his laurels, Howard has kept himself busy throughout 2006 as well, starring in
Idlewild.
And in 2007, Howard made three films:
Awake, opposite
Jessica Alba and
Hayden Christensen, August Rush, and
The Perfect Holiday.
2008 took him into
Iron Man, opposite Robert Downey, Jr., and
Fighting. And 2009 has him slated for
Factor X and
The Crusaders.
Howard’s personal life is one of wonder: After he was married in 1989 to
Lori McCommas and then divorced in 2003, he remarried her again in 2005 and the two are now divorced once again. He was dating
Dayanara Torres, Marc Anthony’s ex-wife, but is currently not seeing anyone.
Resource:
IMDb - Terrence Howard
