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Taraji P. Henson to Receive Honorary AARP Purpose Prize

Taraji P. Henson arrives at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, Jan. 15, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP)
Taraji P. Henson arrives at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, Jan. 15, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP)
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Taraji P. Henson to Receive Honorary AARP Purpose Prize

Taraji P. Henson arrives at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, Jan. 15, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP)
Taraji P. Henson arrives at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, Jan. 15, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP)

Taraji P. Henson will receive an honorary AARP Award for eradicating the stigma around mental health within marginalized communities through her foundation that was created in honor of her father.

The organization announced Tuesday that Henson will receive the honorary AARP Purpose Prize during the ceremony on Oct. 1 in Washington, D.C. The Oscar-nominated actor will be recognized for her work through the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation.

Henson said she is honored by AARP's recognition of her foundation's efforts. She hopes the organization's platform will put a spotlight on mental health and encourage people to be “open about discussing their struggles and ultimately receiving help.”

Henson's foundation, which launched in 2018, honors the legacy of her father, who battled untreated mental health issues after returning from the Vietnam War. The foundation focuses on providing mental health resources and encouraging members of marginalized communities to seek help and support without fear and shame.

The actor said her foundation's mission has been to “eradicate the stigma around mental illness.”

Last year, Henson's foundation partnered with Alabama State University on mental health wellness. She was honored by the Boston-based Ruderman Family Foundation in 2000 for her work to end the stigma around mental illness.

Henson was nominated for an Oscar for 2008’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” She co-starred in the 2016 film “Hidden Figures,” which followed three African American mathematicians at NASA who played a key role in the early days of the US space program. Henson won a 2016 Golden Globe for her role as Cookie Lyon in television’s “Empire” series.

Seven individuals will be awarded the AARP Purpose Prize, which honors people ages 50 and older who are making a difference through their “knowledge and life experience.” Each of their organizations will receive $50,000.

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‘Dirty Dancing,’ ‘Beverly Hills Cop,’ ‘Up in Smoke’ among Movies Entering the National Film Registry

This image released by the Library of Congress shows James Cagney, right, in a scene from the 1938 film "Angels with Dirty Faces." (Warner Bros/Discovery/Library of Congress via AP)
This image released by the Library of Congress shows James Cagney, right, in a scene from the 1938 film "Angels with Dirty Faces." (Warner Bros/Discovery/Library of Congress via AP)
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‘Dirty Dancing,’ ‘Beverly Hills Cop,’ ‘Up in Smoke’ among Movies Entering the National Film Registry

This image released by the Library of Congress shows James Cagney, right, in a scene from the 1938 film "Angels with Dirty Faces." (Warner Bros/Discovery/Library of Congress via AP)
This image released by the Library of Congress shows James Cagney, right, in a scene from the 1938 film "Angels with Dirty Faces." (Warner Bros/Discovery/Library of Congress via AP)

Nobody puts baby in a corner, but they're putting her in the National Film Registry.

“Dirty Dancing,” along with another 1980s culture-changer, “Beverly Hills Cop,” are entering the Library of Congress' registry, part of an annual group of 25 announced Wednesday that spans 115 years of filmmaking.

“Dirty Dancing” from 1987 used the physicality and chemistry of Patrick Swayze as Johnny Castle and Jennifer Grey as Frances “Baby” Houseman to charm generations of moviegoers, while also taking on issues like abortion, classism and antisemitism. In the climactic moment, Swayze defiantly declares, “Nobody puts baby in a corner” before taking Grey to dance to “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.”

1984's “Beverly Hills Cop,” the first Eddie Murphy film in the registry, arguably made him the world's biggest movie star at the time and made action comedies a blockbuster staple for a decade.

Since 1988, the Librarian of Congress has annually selected movies for preservation that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant. The current picks bring the registry to 900 films. Turner Classic Movies will host a TV special on Wednesday, screening a selection of the class of 2024.

The oldest film is from 1895 and brought its own form of dirty dancing: “Annabelle Serpentine Dance” is a minute-long short of a shimmying Annabelle Moore that was decried by many as a public indecency for the suggestiveness of her moves. The newest is David Fincher's “The Social Network" from 2010.

A look at some of the films entering the registry “Pride of the Yankees” (1942): The film became the model for the modern sports tear-jerker, with Gary Cooper playing Lou Gehrig and delivering the classic real-life line: “Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.”

“The Miracle Worker” (1962): Anne Bancroft won an Oscar for best actress for playing title character Anne Sullivan and 16-year-old Patty Duke won best supporting actress for playing her deaf and blind protege Helen Keller in director Arthur Penn's film.

“Up in Smoke” (1978): The first feature to star the duo of Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong established a template for the stoner genre and brought weed culture to the mainstream. Marin, who also appears in the inductee “Spy Kids” from 2001, is one of many Latinos with prominent roles in this year's crop of films.

“Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan” (1982): The second movie in the “Star Trek” franchise featured one of filmdom's great villains in Ricardo Montalban's Khan, and showed that the world of Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock could bring vital thrills to the cinema.

“Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt” (1989): The Oscar-winning documentary on the NAMES Project Aids Memorial Quilt was a landmark telling of the devastation wrought by the disease.

“My Own Private Idaho” (1991): Director Gus Van Sant's film featured perhaps the greatest performance of River Phoenix, a year before the actor's death at age 23.

“American Me” (1992): Edward James Olmos starred and made his film directorial debut in this tale of Chicano gang life in Los Angeles and the brutal prison experience of its main character.

“No Country for Old Men” (2007): Joel and Ethan Coen broke through at the Oscars with their adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel, winning best picture, best director and best adapted screenplay, while Javier Bardem won best supporting actor for playing a relentless killer with an unforgettable haircut.