Posted by | Ray Cornelius
The stars of “Hidden Figures,” Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe look absolutely “out of this world” for the upcoming February issue of ESSENCE Magazine. The actresses are on the covers promoting their new film which opens in limited theaters on December 25 and nationwide on January 6.
As previously reported, the divas portray mathematicians Dorothy Vaughn, Mary Jackson and Katherine Johnson. These Black women were not just pioneers in their chosen fields but they helped integrate NASA’s White male dominated space program. “Hidden Figures” also stars Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Mahershala Ali and Aldis Hodge and has already been nominated for numerous awards this season including three Golden Globes.
Check out their covers below along with excerpts from their ESSENCE interviews.
“When I was growing up, people told me out of their mouths math and science are for boys. I was told that over and over. Like, no one showed me how to fall in love with numbers. If I had a teacher like Mrs. Johnson, who knows, I might be on the moon,” says Henson to ESSENCE.
“I think they would not have achieved the level of success that they did had they not had one another,” says Monáe to ESSENCE. The Grammy nominated-singer turned actress has already earned AAFCA’s “Best Breakout Performance” Award for her role in this film as well as Barry Jenkins‘ “Moonlight.”
Spencer, who has also earned a Golden Globe nomination for her role, signed on to the film project two years ago and continues to admire the woman she portrays. “Dorothy Vaughan is the genesis of Black Girls Code,” Spencer tells ESSENCE.
The February issue of ESSENCE hits newsstands on January 13.
Photo Credits: ESSENCE.com
