Cookie's here to slay!

Cookie Lyon has been a character that has captured the hearts of audiences around the world. Not only has Taraji P Henson played the character on Empire with elan but has also managed to carry off the sass that comes with role. In the third season, Cookie seems to be becoming more and more prominent and Taraji seems excited for that. She tells us more.

Talking about the backstory that viewers have been waiting to see, Taraji says, “In the backstory you will get to see how Cookie and Lucius met. And really get an insight as to where Cookie comes from, because it’s totally different from where I thought she came from.”

She goes on to say that she is extremely excited for fans to see her character finally coming into her own. “She is really coming into this position of co-CEO of the company that she started so long ago. She had to acclimate herself really fast. Seventeen years being locked away in prison is a long time to be disconnected from society. And the fact that it didn’t break her, and the fact that she came out ready to take on so much  says a lot about her character. And you’re just going to see exactly how strong she is. She’s just one tough cookie!”
Taraji also says that Cookie has seen a lot of ups and downs and transitions from the first season the latest, “She’s controlled her temper. When you’re a CEO of a company you can’t haul off and smack people left and right. You can, but you might not get a lot of work accomplished. You might lose clients and it might not be good for business. But, yes,  that’s how she’s changed. She’s a bit calmer, more reserved, more diplomatic.”

Sharing her absolute favourite moment from the second season’s thrilling finale, she exclaims, “My ‘I can’t believe this moment’ from the second season’s finale was when someone got pushed off the balcony. I couldn’t believe it, just couldn’t! I thought to myself, no one’s safe.”

Her character, Cookie, has also been all the rage on social media, with fans from all over the world talking about her or making hilarious memes about her. “I get amazing gifts from my fans but I get the most from Brazil. They’ll have a meme of a baby crying or a woman in a do-rag waiting at the table and it’ll say, ‘Me waiting for Cookie to come back and slay my life!’ I always look forward to those memes,” she concludes on a happy note.

(Empire season 3 airs Thursdays at 9 pm on Star World and Star World HD)

(Compiled by Kaavya Pillai)