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Queen Latifah

Born Dana Elaine Owens on March 18, 1970, the premier female rap star is better known by her stage name Queen Latifah. Latifah began her career in the 1980s, and is considered a pioneer. Her career has also encompassed acting and writing. She continues to be a force in today's world as a spokeswoman for companies such as Cover Girl and Curvations. Her 1999 memoir, Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman, was a bestseller, hailed as a self-esteem manual for young women.

Young Dana Owens grew up in Newark, New Jersey. At age 8, she was dubbed Latifah, which means “gentle” in Arabic, by a cousin; she adopted “Queen” later. In 1987, she began beatboxing for the rap group Ladies Fresh. At the age of 19, she produced a solo album, All Hail the Queen (1989), which incorporated techniques beyond rap, such as soul, hip-hop, and reggae, and is often hailed as a feminist expression. Since then, she has gone on to produce an impressive discography: Nature of a Sista (1991), Black Reign (1993), Order in the Court (1998), The Dana Owens Album (2004), Trav'lin’ Light (2007), Persona (2009). Black Reign was the first album by a female MC to go gold, and the single U.N.I.T.Y. earned the Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance. Latifah has earned an additional four Grammy nominations as well.

Other Talents

Besides singing, Latifah also directed her talents toward acting. Early movie ventures included Jungle Fever (1991), House Party 2 (1991), Juice (1992), My Life (1993), Set It Off (1996), and Hoodlum (1997). After guest appearances on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Latifah starred in her own TV series, Living Single, which ran on Fox from 1993 to 1998. She also hosted The Queen Latifah Show, which ran in syndication from 1999 to 2001, and continues to make occasional guest appearances on other TV series.

After Living Single ended, Latifah turned her attention more fully to movies. Parts in Sphere (1998), Living Out Loud (1998), The Bone Collector (1999), and Brown Sugar (2002) led to her notable part in the movie musical, Chicago (2002), for which she earned nominations from the Screen Actors Guild and the Golden Globes for Best Supporting Actress.

Other movies followed, including Bringing Down the House (2003), Scary Movie 3 (2003), Taxi (2004), Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004), Beauty Shop (2005), Stranger Than Fiction (2006), Last Holiday (2006), The Perfect Holiday (2007), Hairspray (2007), The Secret Life of Bees (2008), What Happens in Vegas (2008), and Mad Money (2008). Latifah also starred in an HBO movie, Life Support (2007), for which she earned a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Emmy nomination.

Recently, Latifah has also made forays into the realm of voice-overs. She has worked on several TV shows, such as The Fairly Oddparents, but she is perhaps best known for portraying Ellie the Mammoth in Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009). She has also penned a children's book, Queen of the Scene (HarperCollins, 2006), which sends a message of female empowerment to the younger generation.

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