Taraji P. Henson stuns in the September issue of Harper's Bazaar, opening up to the magazine about her fan-favorite character on Empire and her personal style. The actress revealed that much of her character, Cookie, is inspired by qualities in her late father, who "had no buffer." Keep reading for more pictures and quotes from Taraji's Harper's Bazaar feature [1], then check out her hot appearance at the Summer TCAs [2] and relive all the times Cookie was your favorite badass [3].

• On her favorite of Cookie's outfits so far: "Alaïa black catsuit, hands down. I've even worn some of my own stuff, like my Balmain leather. I have to meet [Balmain designer] Olivier Rousteing; I need to be his friend."
• On modeling Cookie after her late father: "He had no buffer. He spoke the truth. It's heroic because in this society we have been trained to be politically correct. Political correctness is bullsh*t. If I ask you a question right now, the first thing that comes in your mind is the truth. But we've all been trained to breathe, digest the question, and manipulate the answer. Cookie doesn't do that."
• On her personal style: "It took me a while to get on the chic bus. I was coming from the era of Lil' Kim and Mary J. Blige, you know, ghetto fabulous. I came from nothing, I was deprived all my life, so when you get money, you go big!"
• On what she's looking for in a man: "He is funny, has personality; he doesn't take himself too seriously. He needs to be confident in who he is, confident to let me be who I am. And let me shine, you know? My life is only going to enhance his light."