Early life

Howard was born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Anita Jeanine Williams (née Hawkins) and Tyrone Howard. His maternal great-grandmother, Minnie Gentry, was a stage actress, as were his mother and uncles. He experienced racism in his childhood. His father was involved in what has been termed the Santa Line Slaying (1971), serving eleven months in prison on manslaughter charges after stabbing another man to death(out of self defence). At the age of 16, Howard emancipated himself from his parents and was put on welfare; at 18, he moved to New York City to pursue an acting career and worked at Pan American Airlines, where he would travel on his off days to attend auditions in search of that big break. He wanted to be a science teacher, though he had a low GPA in high school and was admitted to the Pratt Institute in New York only after convincing them to give him a special entrance exam. Howard did not complete his education, as he had joined his brother on an audition for The Cosby Show and was cast in the role.

Career

Howard first entered the entertainment world when he portrayed 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 late-1990s television series Sparks, with James L. Avery, Sr. and Miguel A. Nunez Jr. Howard also appeared in The Best Man in 1999, in Ashanti's music video for her 2002 single "Foolish", and in Mary J. Blige's video for "Be Without You". Howard made an appearance on the TV series Family Matters.

Howard has stated that he looks for characters that "teach him about himself" when choosing his film roles. Howard has also worked as a film producer, receiving such a credit for the film Pride. In 2008, Howard hosted the PBS series Independent Lens.

For the 2005 movie Hustle & Flow, Howard performed all the tracks for his character, including "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp", which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 78th Academy Awards.

Howard was the highest-paid cast member of the 2008 film Iron Man. He did not appear in either of the follow-up sequels because it was reported that he would have had to take a 50 to 80 percent pay cut and was replaced by actor Don Cheadle.

Howard released his debut adult alternative album, Shine Through It, in 2008 on Columbia/SME Records. He described the album as urban country and either wrote or co-wrote all the tracks on the album.

In 2008, he made his Broadway debut, playing Brick in an all-African-American production of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, directed by Debbie Allen and also starring James Earl Jones (Big Daddy), Phylicia Rashad (Big Mama) and Anika Noni Rose (Maggie). During rehearsals he allegedly attacked and seriously injured musical composer Tex Allen (brother of the director), who said he suffered multiple injuries as a result of being punched multiple times in the head and face. In October 2008, Allen filed a $5 million lawsuit against Howard.

In October 2008, Howard made a guest appearance in the short film For All Mankind directed by Daniel L. Clifton, filmed on location in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. In 2009, he starred in the movie Fighting.

It was reported on July 30, 2010, that Howard had joined the cast of the new Law & Order: Los Angeles installment of the Law & Order franchise, where he played Deputy District Attorney Joe Dekker. He alternated shows with Alfred Molina, who portrayed Deputy District Attorney Ricardo Morales. The series was cancelled after one season. In 2011, Howard played Nelson Mandela in Winnie Mandela alongside Jennifer Hudson.

Since 2015, he stars on the Fox television series, Empire. The former was created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong in which he plays a hip-hop mogul who discovers he is dying and must ensure the survival of his music empire. The cast includes Taraji P. Henson and Gabourey Sidibe. He was also part of the Fox series Wayward Pines, which ran for one season in 2015. The latter series was produced by M. Night Shyamalan and also included cast members Matt Dillon, Melissa Leo, and Juliette Lewis.

Personal life

Howard lives outside Philadelphia in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania. He has been married four times to three women, and has four children and two grandchildren.

Howard married his first wife, Lori McCommas, in 1989. They have three children together: daughters Aubrey and Heaven, and son Hunter. Through Aubrey, Howard has two grandchildren, a granddaughter born in December 2012 and a grandson born in February 2015. Howard and McCommas divorced in 2003, but remarried in 2005. They subsequently divorced for a second time in 2007. McCommas was born Jewish but is raising their children as Jehovah's Witnesses. In an interview with NPR, Howard stated he wanted to become a Jehovah's Witness as well.

Howard married his second wife, commercial production employee Michelle Ghent. Ghent filed for divorce in February 2011. Ghent filed for a restraining order in December 2011, accusing Howard of being physically abusive toward her. Their divorce was finalized in May 2013.

Howard wed his third wife, model/restaurateur Mira Pak (also known as Miranda), in late 2013. They have one son, Qirin Love (born May 15, 2015).

Though he did not complete his engineering degree, Howard thinks of himself as an engineer and intends to return one day to complete the "three credits" of which he is currently short. Howard's account of his educational history has not been confirmed; Pratt Institute, which he says he attended, closed its engineering degree program in 1993. On February 26, 2013, Howard said on Jimmy Kimmel Live! that he had earned a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from South Carolina State University that year. Although he was awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters from SCSU in 2012, he never attended the university and never earned a degree in chemical engineering.

In 2010, Howard was inducted as an honorary member into Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.

In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Howard explained that he had formulated his own language of logic, which he called Terryology, and which he was keeping secret until he had patented it. This logic language would be used to prove his contention that "1 x 1 = 2".

"How can it equal one?" he said. "If one times one equals one that means that two is of no value because one times itself has no effect. One times one equals two because the square root of four is two, so what's the square root of two? Should be one, but we're told it's two, and that cannot be."

Howard blames his leaving Pratt over disagreements with a professor regarding this hypothesis. He also stated that he spends many hours a day constructing models of plastic and wire that he patented and claims to confirm his belief.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1992	The Jacksons: An American Dream	Adult Jackie Jackson
1993	Who's the Man?	Customer
1995	LottoLand	Warren
1995	Dead Presidents	Cowboy
1995	Mr. Holland's Opus	Louis Russ
1996	Sunset Park	Spaceman
1996	Johns	Jimmy the Warlock
1997	Double Tap	Ulysses
1998	Butter	Dexter Banks
1998	Spark	Byron
1998	Players Club, TheThe Players Club	K.C.
1999	Valerie Flake	Hitchhiker
1999	Best Laid Plans	Jimmy
1999	Best Man, TheThe Best Man	Quentin Spivey	NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Nominated—Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male
2000	Big Momma's House	Lester Vesco
2000	Love Beat the Hell Outta Me	Chris
2001	Investigating Sex	Lorenz
2001	Angel Eyes	Robby
2001	Glitter	Timothy Walker
2002	Hart's War	Lt. Lincoln A. Scott
2003	Love Chronicles	T-Roy
2003	Biker Boyz	Chu Chu
2004	Crash	Cameron Thayer	Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble Cast Florida Film Critics Circle Pauline Kael Breakout Award NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance by an Actor Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Black Movie Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast Nominated—Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor
2004	Ray	Gossie McKee	Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2005	Salon, TheThe Salon	Patrick
2005	Hustle & Flow	Djay	Austin Film Critics Association Award for Breakthrough Artist BET Award for Best Actor Black Movie Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Black Reel Award for Best Actor Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Song Satellite Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Breakthrough Performance Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated—Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble Cast Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama Nominated—Gotham Award - Breakthrough Award Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated—Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
2005	Four Brothers	Lt. Green	Nominated—Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble
2005	Animal	Darius Allen
2005	Get Rich or Die Tryin'	Bama
2006	Idlewild	Trumpy
2007	Pride	Jim Ellis	Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
2007	Hunting Party, TheThe Hunting Party	Duck (journalist)
2007	Brave One, TheThe Brave One	Detective Mercer
2007	August Rush	Richard Jeffries (child counselor)
2007	Awake	Dr. Jack Harper
2007	Perfect Holiday, TheThe Perfect Holiday	Mr. Bah Humbug
2008	Iron Man	USAF Lt. Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes	Nominated—Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor
2008	Phillies World Series Champions DVD	Narrator
2009	Fighting	Harvey Boarden
2009	Princess and the Frog, TheThe Princess and the Frog	James	Voice role
2011	Little Murder	Drag Hammerman
2011	Ledge, TheThe Ledge	Hollis Lucetti
2011	Winnie Mandela	Nelson Mandela
2012	Red Tails	Col. A.J. Bullard
2012	On The Road	Walter
2012	The Company You Keep	Cornelius
2013	Movie 43	Coach Jackson	Segment "Victory's Glory"
2013	Dead Man Down	Alphonse Hoyt
2013	House Of Bodies	Starks
2013	The Butler	Howard
2013	Prisoners	Franklin Birch
2013	The Best Man Holiday	Quentin Spivey
2014	Sabotage	Julius "Sugar" Edmonds
2014	Lullaby	Dr. Crier
2014	St. Vincent	Zucko
2016	Term Life	Sheriff Braydon

TV movies

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1992	Jacksons: An American Dream, TheThe Jacksons: An American Dream	Jackie Jackson
1993	Tall Hopes	Chester Harris
1995	The O.J. Simpson Story	Young A.C.
2000	King of the World	Cassius Clay
2001	Boycott	Ralph Abernathy	Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
2005	Their Eyes Were Watching God	Amos Hicks
2005	Lackawanna Blues	Bill Crosby	NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special Nominated—Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Family Matters	John	1 episode
1994	Living Single	Brendan King
1994	Coach	Johnny Williams
1995	New York Undercover	Buster Goings
1996-98	Sparks	Greg Sparks
2010-11	Law & Order: LA	Senior D.D.A. Jonah "Joe" Dekker	Series regular
2011	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Senior D.D.A. Jonah "Joe" Dekker	Episode: "Reparations"
2012	Hawaii Five-0	Billy	Episode: "I Ka Wa Mamua"
2015-present	Empire	Lucious Lyon	Series regular Won—BET Award for Best Actor Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actor: Drama Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV: Villain Nominated—Teen Choice Awards for Choice TV: Chemistry
2015	Wayward Pines	Sheriff Pope	Series regular

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2008	Iron Man	USAF Lt. Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes	Voice role

Music Videos

Year	Title	Artist	Length	Album	Official Video
2015	"Ghosttown"	Madonna	5:28	Rebel Heart	Ghosttown

Discography

• Shine Through It (2008)

Awards and Nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1999	Independent Spirit Award	Best Supporting Male	The Best Man	Nominated
	Black Reel Award	Best Supporting Actor		Won
	Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	Best Supporting Actor		Nominated
2000	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture		Won

Charities

Terrence Howard supports the following charitable cause: Cancer.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]