In the land of deep tanning ethos, manicured dreams and shifting personalities roams Taraji P. Henson, a beacon of sensibility. Incognito in a hat, white sweatshirt, blue suede boots and a not-so-quiet silver- and gold-plated Versace bag, the Oscar-nominated actress hustles into Peet’s Coffee in Studio City, Calif., and quickly explains her slight tardiness.

“I had to find these chips for Marcel,” she says of her son, who goes to school in the area. “At the end of the day, I’m still human [and] flawed just like the next.”

Despite all the glitz and glam, she’s managed to stay grounded.

Sure, being called “hot mama” by Brad Pitt, nabbing a 2009 Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Queenie in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and starring in Tyler Perry’s new film, I Can Do Bad All By Myself, is sweeping, but make no mistake, she’s still the same Washington, D.C., girl.

“When I go home it’s, ‘T.J., you left your dishes in the sink, take out the trash,’” she says. “It’s no different.” “If you’re nice before you make it then, really, you’re nice after you make it,” says Henson’s manager Vincent Cirrincione, who also manages Halle Berry. “She’s still Taraji. She’s not out there being a diva.”

However, one thing has changed in her life.

“I’m getting more offers,” the 38-year-old says with a grin. “People know my work now, [but] TMZ knows me [as well],” she groans. “I know it comes with the territory, but it’s weird. I’ve never had an assistant. I still do my own errands. I go places and a photographer shows up. I’m like, ‘Did somebody tip them off?’ That bugs me.”

Pick up the September/October issue of upscale to read more from Taraji, where she thinks her career is headed and her life's hardest struggle.