TARAJI P. HENSON RETURNS IN SECOND ANNUAL MUSIC AND VARIETY SPECIAL "TARAJI'S WHITE HOT HOLIDAYS," THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, ON FOX

EMPIRE's Jussie Smollett, Taye Diggs, Pharrell Williams, Missy Elliott, Alicia Keys, Darryl McDaniels of Run-DMC, Snoop Dogg and TLC to Perform; Tyler Perry and BROOKLYN NINE-NINE's Terry Crews to Make Cameo Appearances

Taraji P. Henson, Golden Globe-winning star of EMPIRE and the upcoming movie "Hidden Figures," is back this holiday season to spread cheer, goodwill and some holiday magic in the second annual music and variety special TARAJI'S WHITE HOT HOLIDAYS, airing Thursday, Dec. 8 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT), on FOX.

The one-hour special will feature renditions of classic holiday songs by entertainment superstars, including EMPIRE's Jussie Smollett, Taye Diggs, Pharrell Williams, Missy Elliott, Alicia Keys, Darryl McDaniels of Run-DMC, Snoop Dogg and TLC. The event also will feature cameo appearances by acclaimed actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry and BROOKLYN NINE-NINE's Terry Crews, among other surprise guests and performances.

Henson stars in FOX's hit series, EMPIRE. Having taken TV audiences by storm in its record-shattering first and second seasons, EMPIRE returned this season as the No. 1 drama among Adults 18-49, averaging more than 16 million viewers across multiple platforms, as well as being the most tweeted-about scripted program on broadcast television this season on Twitter.

For her role as "Cookie Lyon" on EMPIRE, Henson won the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama and was nominated for an Emmy Award, for the second year in a row, in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Prior to EMPIRE, Henson earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, opposite Brad Pitt in David Fincher's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." She also received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for her role in the made-for-cable film "Taken From Me." She starred as "Detective Joss Carter" in the J.J. Abrams-produced crime drama "Person of Interest," and was awarded the 2013 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. Henson recently was seen in "Term Life," with Vince Vaughn; and starred in the thriller "No Good Deed." She also starred in the comedy hits "Think Like a Man" and "Think Like a Man Too," as well as in "From the Rough," the true story of Catana Starks, the Tennessee State University men's golf coach who was the first woman coach to win an NCAA championship. Henson is a New York Times best-selling author for her memoir, "Around The Way Girl." This holiday season, she stars in the feature film "Hidden Figures," alongside Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae.

TARAJI'S WHITE HOT HOLIDAYS is produced by Casey Patterson Entertainment, Taraji P. Henson, Jane Mun, Greg Sills and Vincent Cirrincione.

About Casey Patterson Entertainment

Casey Patterson Entertainment is a full service production company producing premium content, live events and talent-driven series and specials with offices in New York City and Los Angeles. Patterson is an Emmy(R)-nominated, critically acclaimed executive producer who created an array of groundbreaking programming during her 20-year tenure at Viacom. Patterson's current projects include the breakout hit series "Lip Sync Battle," the highest-rated series in Spike history; the revamped "2016 MTV Movie Awards"; "Guys Choice"; Spike's "One Night Only"; "The TV Land Awards"; and "Rock the Troops," with Dwayne Johnson's Seven Bucks Productions. Patterson's credits include such high-profile events as "The Concert for New York City," "The Concert of the Century at the White House," "Saturday Night Live 25th Anniversary Special," "The Comedy Awards," "Between Two Ferns - A Fairy Tale of New York," "The Video Game Awards," "SCREAM Awards," "GQ Men of the Year Awards," VH1's "Vogue Fashion Awards," VH1's "Divas Live," FOX's "Billboard Music Awards" and NBC's "Concert for America."