African-American Terrence Howard has been ordered to stay 100 yards away from his estranged wife, Michelle Howard, who claims that the Oscar-nominated actor consistently abused her throughout their short marriage, and even threatened to kill her

Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon granted the stay-away order sought by Michelle Howard after she filed a lengthy declaration saying that the abuse began within a week of the couple's January 2010 marriage. A year later, Michelle Howard filed for divorce. The restraining order remains in effect until a January 17, 2012 court hearing. Michelle Howard wrote that Howard has hit her several times and he threatened to throw her from a hotel balcony in South Africa in 2010. She included a text message that she said he sent to her in which he begged her not to pursue the divorce and threaten his career, ending the message saying, "I can't promise how I will respond."