From could be to reality, last Thursday, Taraji P Henson was nominated for an Oscar for her role as Queenie in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; look for her in the Best Supporting Actress category. The next morning Taraji was interviewed on The Early Show on CBS. She was ‘knocked out’ when the Oscar nominations were announced..  “I was comatose. ... I have a great group of friends, and they knew that I was gonna be angst. And they took me out the night before for a fabulous dinner. And then we went out for music and dancing just so I could have a light night and not think about it. And the tactic worked, because I got home. I was wiped out. And I was knocked out.”

Her manager called her at 5:30 (in the morning?).. “I knew it had to be good news. Cause what idiot would call me at 5:30 with bad news?!” Taraji said she hadn’t even thought about winning. “I couldn’t go there yet. I was still dealing with, ‘Wow! A dream has come true!’ Because that’s every actor’s dream. When you say, ‘I want to be an actor,’ everybody thinks about Old Oscar.”

A little half-truth there? If she didn’t think she had a chance to be nominated, why the pre-nomination announcement party time? I guess that’s the humble thing to say on national TV. And the party don’t stop. Last night in Beverly Hills, Taraji and friends celebrated her now confirmed nomination with a little food and drink at Maestro’s Steakhouse in Beverly Hills.

It’s all kinds of right that John Singleton and Tyrese were in the place. In my mind, Baby Boy was the first time Taraji blipped on the radar.

Sanaa Lathan and Nia Long were on hand to pop champagne.

Taraji and Manny Haley → Keyshia Cole’s Manny Haley?! ← I can’t call it

*Got it ~ That’s Chaka Zulu, Luda’s manager/partner. See comments.*

Baby Boy 2: It’s a Girl .. I love some Taraji. Let’s hope these roses turn golden on Feb. 22 - that’s Academy Awards night.