• Faith: Spirituality
• Career: Actor
• Birthday:  March 11, 1969

Terrence Howard is an actor who had his first major roles in the 1995 films “Dead Presidents” and “Mr. Holland’s Opus.” Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of television and film roles between 2004 and 2006. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in “Hustle & Flow.” Howard has had prominent roles in numerous other films, including “Ray,” “Winnie Mandela,” “Lackawanna Blues,” “Crash,” “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” “Idlewild,” and “Prisoners.”

Howard played James “Rhodey” Rhodes in the first “Iron Man” film” and starred as the lead character Lucious Lyon in the television series “Empire.” His debut album, “Shine Through It,” was released in September 2008. In December 2022, he announced that he was retiring from acting. Howard was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1969 but was raised in Cleveland, Ohio, where he had a tumultuous childhood. He endured beatings from his father and saw his father stab another man when he was two years old.

His father was convicted of manslaughter and served 11 months in jail. Howard’s parents divorced after his father’s release, and his great-grandmother raised him. She died in 1993 at 77 years old. Howard first entered the entertainment business when he played Jackie Jackson in “The Jacksons: An American Dream,” an ABC miniseries. Three years later, he made his big film break in 1995’s “Mr. Holland’s Opus.” He continued being cast in television and movie roles and co-starred as Greg Sparks in the short-lived TV series “Sparks,” with James L. Avery Sr. and Miguel A. Nunez Jr.

Howard also starred in “The Best Man,” in Ashanti’s music video for her 2002 single “Foolish,” and in Mary J. Blige’s video for “Be Without You.” He also made an appearance on “Family Matters.” Howard has said that he looks for characters that “teach him about himself” when choosing his film roles. For “Hustle & Flow,” he played a pimp and aspiring rapper, performing all the character’s tracks himself, including “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp,” which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 78th Academy Awards.

What religion is Terrance Howard?

Terrance Howard was raised a Muslim and contemplated becoming a Jehovah’s Witness like his first wife and their three children. However, when the actor met his third wife, Mira, in 2013, Howard had given up organized religion and found truth in science and nature. Howard said, “Two weeks after meeting Mira, I gathered up things associated with my past and found a nice hill and buried them all there.”

When describing his contemplation of becoming a Jehovah’s Witness, Howard said, That's - because in my heart, I wanted to be a Witness. And if it wasn't for the smoking of cigarettes and all that other - you know, that I would be a Witness. But I just got a little more - well, I just need to study a little bit more. But one of the things that struck me was the discipline of truth.”