Queen Latifah
148784
226153239
2008-07-17T01:43:22Z
68.200.65.166
/* Recording artist */
{{redirect|Latifah|the Arab singer|Latifa}}
{{Infobox actor
| image = Queen Latifah 3.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birthname = Dana Elaine Owens
| birthdate = {{birth date and age|1970|3|18}}
| birthplace = [[Newark, New Jersey ]]
| deathdate =
| deathplace =
| othername =
| occupation = [[Rapper]], [[Singing|singer]], [[actress]]
| yearsactive = [[1991 in film|1991]]-present (film)<br>[[1989 in music|1989]]-present (music)
| spouse = none
| domesticpartner =
| website = http://www.queenlatifah.com/
| academyawards =
| afiawards =
| arielaward =
| baftaawards =
| cesarawards =
| emmyawards =
| filmfareawards =
| geminiawards =
| goldenglobeawards = '''[[Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress In A Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television|Best Actress - Miniseries or TV Film]]''' <br> 2008 ''[[Life Support (film)|Life Support]]''
| goldenraspberryawards =
| goyaawards =
| grammyawards = '''[[Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance|Best Rap Solo Performance]]'''<br>1995 ''[[U.N.I.T.Y.]]''
| iftaawards =
| laurenceolivierawards =
| naacpimageawards = '''[[NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture|Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture]]'''<br>2003 ''[[Bringing Down the House (film)|Bringing Down the House]]''<br>'''[[NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special|Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special]]'''<br>2008 ''[[Life Support (film)|Life Support]]''
| nationalfilmawards =
| sagawards = '''[[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture|Outstanding Cast - Motion Picture]]'''<br>2007 ''[[Hairspray (2007 film)|Hairspray]]'' <br>2002 ''[[Chicago (2002 film)|Chicago]]'' <br>
'''[[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie|Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie]]'''<br>2007 ''[[Life Support (film)|Life Support]]''
| tonyawards =
| awards =
}}
'''Dana Elaine Owens''' (born [[March 18]], [[1970]]), better known by her [[stage name]] '''Queen Latifah''', is an award-winning [[United States|American]] [[rapper]], [[Singing|singer]] and [[actor|actress]]. Latifah's work in music, film and television has earned her a [[Golden Globe Award|Golden Globe]] award, three [[Screen Actors Guild Award|Screen Actors Guild Awards]], two [[NAACP Image Awards|Image Awards]], a [[Grammy Award]], six additional Grammy nominations, an [[Emmy Award]] nomination and an [[Academy Award]] nomination.
==Early life==
Latifah was born in [[Newark, New Jersey]], the daughter of Rita, a schoolteacher who worked at [[Irvington High School (New Jersey)|Irvington High School]], and Lancelot Owens, a policeman.<ref name="parents">{{cite news|last=Hyman|first=Vicki|coauthors=|title=The Queen holds court|pages=|publisher=The Star-Ledger|date=[[2007-07-18]]|url=http://www.nj.com/entertainment/ledger/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-1/118473419494000.xml&coll=1|accessdate=2007-07-21}}</ref><ref>[http://www.filmreference.com/film/69/Queen-Latifah.html Queen Latifah Biography (1970-)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref name="actors">Stated in interview on ''[[Inside the Actors Studio]]'', 2006</ref> Her parents divorced when Latifah was ten.<ref name="actors"/> Latifah performed the number "Home" from the musical ''[[The Wiz]]'' in a high school play.<ref>[http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/queen_latifah/artist.jhtml Queen Latifah | Music Artist | Videos, News, Photos & Ringtones | MTV<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Her stage name, ''Latifah'' (لطيفة), meaning "kind" in [[Arabic language|Arabic]], was given to her when she was eight by her cousin.<ref name="actors"/> Latifah was raised in the [[Baptist]] church,<ref>[http://www.beliefnet.com/story/182/story_18272_1.html Queen Latifah Discusses God, Jesus, Rap, and Her New Movie, 'Last Holiday,' in this Beliefnet Interview - Beliefnet.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and, while in high school, was a power forward on her basketball team.<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/01/08/earlyshow/leisure/celebspot/main535725.shtml 'Queen' Of Many Hats, Queen Latifah Makes Jump From Hip Hop Artist To Actress - CBS News<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==Recording and acting career==
===Recording artist===
{{Infobox musical artist
|Name = Queen Latifah
|Img =
|Img_capt =
|Background = solo_singer
|Birth_name = Dana Elaine Owens
|Alias =
|Born = {{birth date and age|1970|3|18}}
|Died =
|Origin = [[Newark, New Jersey]]
|Instrument =
|Genre = [[Rap music|Rap]], [[Soul music|soul]], [[Jazz music|jazz]], [[hip hop soul]], [[contemporary R&B|R&B]]
|Occupation =
|Years_active = 1987 - present
|Label = [[Motown Records]]
|Associated_acts =
|URL =
}}
Latifah started her career [[beatboxing]] for the rap group ''[[Ladies Fresh]]''.<ref name="actors"/> Latifah was one of the members of the original version of the Flavor Unit, which, at that time, was a crew of emcees grouped around producer [[DJ Mark the 45 King]]. In 1988, DJ Mark the 45 King heard a demo version of Latifah's single "Princess of the Posse" and gave the demo to [[Fab Five Freddy]], who was the host of ''[[Yo! MTV Raps]]''. Freddy helped Latifah sign with [[Tommy Boy Records]], which released Latifah's first album ''[[All Hail the Queen]]'' in 1989, when she was nineteen.<ref name="actors"/> That year, she appeared as Referee on the [[United Kingdom|UK]] label Music of Life album "1989—The Hustlers Convention (live)". Her debut managed to be both a critical and a commercial success and was followed by the albums ''Nature of a Sista'' and ''[[Black Reign]]'', which contained the Grammy Award winning hit single, ''[[U.N.I.T.Y.]]'' In 1998, Co Produced by Ro Smith now CEO of Def Ro Inc. she released her fourth hip-hop album ''Order in the Court''. In 2004, she released the [[soul music|soul]]/[[jazz standards]] ''[[The Dana Owens Album]]''.
On [[July 11]], [[2007]], Latifah made her singing debut at the famed [[Hollywood Bowl]] in [[Los Angeles]] as the headliner act in a live [[jazz]] concert. Before an enthusiastic crowd of more than 12,400, she was backed by a 10-piece live orchestra and three backup vocalists, The Queen Latifah Orchestra. Latifah performed new arrangements of standards including "[[California Dreaming]]," first made popular by [['60s]] [[Icon|icons]] [[The Mamas & the Papas]].
In 2007, Latifah released an album entitled ''[[Trav'lin' Light (Queen Latifah album)|Trav'lin' Light]]''. [[Jill Scott]], [[Erykah Badu]], [[Joe Sample]], [[George Duke]], [[Christian McBride]], and [[Stevie Wonder]] made guest appearances.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurweb.com/story/eur35097.cfm|title=LATIFAH OPENING FATBURGER IN MIAMI: Plus, new album due [[September 25]].|date=July 17, 2007|publisher=EURweb}}</ref> It was nominated for a Grammy in the "Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album" category.<ref>[http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/50th_Show/list.aspx GRAMMY.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
===Film and television===
From 1993 to 1998, Latifah had a starring role on ''[[Living Single]]'', a [[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX]] [[situation comedy|sitcom]];<ref name="actors"/> she also wrote and performed its theme music. She began her film career in supporting roles in the 1991 films ''[[House Party 2]]'', ''[[Juice (film)|Juice]]'', and ''[[Jungle Fever]]''. She had her own talk show, ''[[The Queen Latifah Show]]'', from [[1999 in television|1999]] to [[2001 in television|2001]].
Latifah first attracted notice for her role portraying a [[lesbian]] in the 1996 box-office hit, ''[[Set It Off]]'' and subsequently had a supporting role in the [[Holly Hunter]] film ''[[Living Out Loud]]'' (1998).<ref name="actors"/> She played the role of Thelma in the 1999 movie adaptation of Jeffrey Deavers' ''[[The Bone Collector]]'', alongside [[Denzel Washington]] and [[Angelina Jolie]]. Although she had already received some critical acclaim, she gained mainstream success after being cast as Matron "Mama" Morton in the Oscar-winning musical ''[[Chicago (2002 film)|Chicago]]'', the recipient of the Best Picture Oscar.<ref name="actors"/> Latifah received an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Actress in a Supporting Role]] for her role, but lost to co-star [[Catherine Zeta-Jones]].<ref name="actors"/> Latifah is one of two [[Hip hop|hip-hop]] artists to receive an [[Academy Award]] nomination in an acting category (Best Supporting Actress, ''[[Chicago (2002 film)|Chicago]]'', 2002). The other is [[Will Smith]] (Best Actor, ''[[Ali (film)|Ali]]'', 2001, and Best Actor, ''[[The Pursuit of Happyness]]'', 2007).
In 2003, she starred with [[Steve Martin]] in the film ''[[Bringing Down the House (movie)|Bringing Down the House]]'', which was a major success at the box office.<ref name="actors"/> Since then, she has had both leading and supporting roles in a multitude of films that received varied critical and box office receptions, including ''[[Scary Movie 3]]'', ''[[Barbershop 2: Back in Business]]'', ''[[Taxi (2004 film)|Taxi]]'', ''[[Kung Faux]]'', ''[[Beauty Shop]]'', and ''[[Hairspray (2007 film)|Hairspray]]''.
In early 2006, Latifah appeared in a romantic comedy/drama entitled ''[[Last Holiday (2006 film)|Last Holiday]]''.<ref name="actors"/> Film critic [[Richard Roeper]] stated that "this is the Queen Latifah performance I've been waiting for ever since she broke into movies".<ref>{{cite web | author=Roger Ebert; Richard Roeper | publisher=Movies.com| title=Reviews for the Weekend of January 7-8 2006 | url=http://tvplex.go.com/buenavista/ebertandroeper/060109.html | date=9 January 2006| accessdate=2007-02-16 }}</ref> Also in 2006, Latifah voiced Ellie, a friendly [[mammoth]], in the animated film, ''[[Ice Age: The Meltdown]]'' (her first voice appearance in an animated film), and also appeared in the drama ''[[Stranger than Fiction (film)|Stranger Than Fiction]]''.
She has starred in two movie remakes (''[[Taxi (2004 film)|Taxi]]'' and ''[[Last Holiday (2006 film)|Last Holiday]]''), four sequels (''[[House Party 2]]'', ''[[Scary Movie 3]]'', ''[[Barbershop 2: Back in Business]]'' and ''[[Ice Age: The Meltdown]]''), one spinoff (''[[Beauty Shop]]''), one movie based on a book (''[[The Bone Collector]]''), and two screen adaptations of musicals (''[[Chicago (2002 film)|Chicago]]'' and ''[[Hairspray (2007 film)|Hairspray]]''). Addressing the apparent disparity between rap music and movie musicals, Queen admits that she grew up watching musicals and singing in that style. "What the hell was I going to do," she revealed to CraveOnline, "it wasn't like I was going to perform much of that ... but now it's all paying off because here come the musicals again and I get a chance to have some fun with a lot of these songs."<ref>[http://www.craveonline.com/filmtv/articles/04648210/queen_latifah_needs_some_sleep.html Queen Latifah needs some sleep]</ref>
The summer of 2007 brought Latifah triple success in the big-screen version of the Broadway smash hit ''[[Hairspray (2007 film)|Hairspray]]'', in which she acted, sang, and danced. The film rated highly with critics. It starred, among others, [[John Travolta]] and [[Christopher Walken]]. Also in 2007, she portrayed an [[HIV]]-positive woman in the film ''[[Life Support (film)| Life Support]]'', a role for which she garnered her first [[Golden Globe Award]], [[Screen Actors Guild]] Award and an [[Emmy Award|Emmy]] nomination.
Latifah produced the 2007 film ''[[The Perfect Holiday]]'' penned by Marc Calixte and Lance Rivera in [[Westfield, New Jersey|Westfield, NJ]]. In addition to producing the film, Latifah starred alongside [[Terrence Howard]], [[Morris Chestnut]], [[Gabrielle Union]], [[Charlie Murphy|Charles Q. Murphy]], [[Jill Marie Jones]], and [[Faizon Love]].<ref name="upcoming">{{cite news| publisher=EURWeb.com |author=Roz Stevenson | title=Queen Latifah Makes Animated Film Debut | url=http://eurweb.com/story/eur25611.cfm | date=1 March 2006| accessdate=2007-02-16}}</ref>
In 2008, Latifah appeared in the crime comedy ''[[Mad Money (film)|Mad Money]]'' opposite [[Academy Award]]-winner [[Diane Keaton]] as well as [[Katie Holmes]] and [[Ted Danson]].
===Products and endorsements===
Latifah is a celebrity spokesperson for [[CoverGirl|Cover Girl]] cosmetics, Curvation ladies underwear, [[Pizza Hut]] and [[Jenny Craig, Inc.|Jenny Craig]].<ref>[http://www.etonline.com/news/2008/01/57203/index.html "Queen Latifah is the Newest Face of Jenny Craig"], ETonline.com, [[January 10]], [[2008]]</ref> She has developed her own line of cosmetics for women of color called the [http://www.covergirl.com/queen Covergirl Queen Collection] and has starred in several commercials for the line, as well as a commercial with fellow spokeswoman and singer [[Faith Hill]].
==Personal life==
Raised in [[East Orange, New Jersey]], she has been a resident of [[Rumson, New Jersey]].<ref>[http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-118942332.html "The Robertson Treatment Vol. 6.7; Queen Latifah holding court in Hollywood!"], ''Baltimore Afro-American'', [[March 28]], [[2003]]. Accessed [[December 11]], [[2007]]. "'I've always loved musicals,' admits the actress who was born Dana Owens and was raised in the East Orange, NJ area and who presently lives in Rumson, NJ."</ref> Latifah's older brother Lancelot Jr. was killed in [[1992]] in an accident involving a motorcycle that Latifah had recently bought him.<ref name="actors"/> Latifah still wears the key to the motorcycle around her neck,<ref name="actors"/> which can be seen throughout her performance in her sitcom ''[[Living Single]]''. She also dedicated ''Black Reign'' to him. In 1993, Latifah was the victim of a [[carjacking]], which also resulted in the shooting of a friend. In 1996 she was arrested and charged with possession of [[cannabis (drug)|marijuana]] and possession of a loaded handgun<ref>{{cite news
| title = Queen Latifa arrested in California for carrying loaded pistol and the possession of marijuana
| work = Jet
| date = 1996-02-19
| url = http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_n14_v89/ai_18004767
| accessdate = 2008-07-08}}
</ref>, resulting in a fine and two years' probation{{Fact|date=April 2008}}. In her 1999 [[autobiography]], ''Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman'', Latifah discussed how her brother's death led to a bout of depression and drug abuse, from which she later recovered.
Because of her portrayal of a [[lesbian]] in ''[[Set It Off]]'' and her avoidance of discussing her romantic life, [[tabloid]] media have at times speculated on her sexual orientation. Latifah responded to these rumors in her autobiography by saying: "It's insulting when someone asks, 'Are you gay?' A woman cannot be strong, outspoken, competent at running her own business, handle herself physically, play a very convincing role in a movie, know what she wants—and go for it—without being gay? Come on."<ref>{{cite book |last=Queen Latifah |first= |coauthors=Hunter, Karen |year=1998 |title=Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman |location= |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=0688156231}}</ref>
In early 2003, Latifah had [[breast reduction]] surgery to relieve back pain. She also works out with a trainer and [[kickboxing|kickboxes]].<ref name="kickbox">{{cite news| author=Suzanne Rozdeba; Ben Widdicombe| publisher=New York Daily News | title=To 'C' the Queen | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/94618p-85741c.html | date=22 June 2003| accessdate=2007-02-16}}</ref>
==Awards==
{{main|Queen Latifah awards and nominations}}
==Discography==
{{main|Queen Latifah discography}}
;Studio albums
*1989: ''[[All Hail the Queen]]''
*1991: ''[[Nature of a Sista]]''
*1993: ''[[Black Reign]]''
*1998: ''[[Order in the Court]]''
*2004: ''[[The Dana Owens Album]]''
*2007: ''[[Trav'lin' Light (Queen Latifah album)|Trav'lin' Light]]''
;Compilation albums
*2002: ''[[She's a Queen: A Collection of Hits]]''
==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC"
! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[1991 in film|1991]] || ''[[Jungle Fever]]'' || Lashawn ||
|-
| ''[[House Party 2]]'' || Zora ||
|-
| [[1992 in film|1992]] || ''[[Juice (film)|Juice]]'' || Ruffhouse M.C. ||
|-
| [[1996 in film|1996]] || ''[[Set It Off]]'' || Cleopatra 'Cleo' Sims ||
|-
| [[1997 in film|1997]] || ''[[Hoodlum (film)|Hoodlum]]'' || Sulie ||
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[1998 in film|1998]] || ''[[Living Out Loud]]'' || Liz Bailey ||
|-
| ''[[Sphere]]'' || Alice "Teeny" Fletcher ||
|-
| [[1999 in film|1999]] || ''[[The Bone Collector]]'' || Thelma ||
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[2002 in film|2002]] || ''[[Chicago (2002 film)|Chicago]]'' || Matron "Mama" Morton || [[Academy Award]] Nomination <br> [[Screen Actors Guild Award]]
|-
| ''[[Brown Sugar (film)|Brown Sugar]]'' || Francine ||
|-
|rowspan="2"| [[2003 in film|2003]] || ''[[Scary Movie 3]]'' || Aunt Shaneequa ||
|-
| ''[[Bringing Down the House (movie)|Bringing Down the House]]'' || Charlene Morton || (also producer)
|-
|rowspan="3"| [[2004 in film|2004]] || ''[[Taxi (2004 film)|Taxi]]'' || Belle ||
|-
| ''[[The Cookout]]'' || Security Guard || (also producer)
|-
| ''[[Barbershop 2: Back in Business]]'' || Gina ||
|-
|rowspan="2"| [[2005 in film|2005]] || ''[[Beauty Shop]]'' || Gina Norris || (also producer)
|-
| ''[[The Muppets' Wizard of Oz]]'' || [[Aunt Em]] ||
|-
|rowspan="3"| [[2006 in film|2006]] || ''[[Stranger than Fiction (film)|Stranger Than Fiction]]'' || Penny Escher ||
|-
| ''[[Ice Age: The Meltdown]]'' || Ellie the [[woolly mammoth]] || (voice)
|-
| ''[[Last Holiday (2006 film)|Last Holiday]]'' || Georgia Byrd ||
|-
|rowspan="4"| [[2007 in film|2007]]
| ''[[Life Support (film)|Life Support]]'' || Ana || (also producer) <br> [[Golden Globe Award]] <br> [[Screen Actors Guild Award]] <br> [[Emmy Award]] Nomination
|-
| ''[[Hairspray (2007 film)|Hairspray]]'' || Motormouth Maybelle || [[Screen Actors Guild Award]]
|-
| ''[[Arctic Tale]]'' || Narrator ||
|-
| ''[[The Perfect Holiday]]'' || Mrs. Christmas || (also producer)
|-
|rowspan="3"| [[2008 in film|2008]]
| ''[[Mad Money (film)|Mad Money]]'' || Nina Brewster ||
|-
| ''[[What Happens in Vegas|What Happens in Vegas...]]'' || Dr. Twitchell ||
|-
| ''[[The Secret Life of Bees (film)|The Secret Life of Bees]]'' || August Boatwright || ''post-production''
|-
|rowspan="2"| [[2009 in film|2009]] || ''[[Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs]]'' || Ellie the woolly mammoth || (voice); ''post-production''
|}
==See also==
*[[Native Tongues Posse]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commonscat|Queen Latifah}}
*Queen Latifah [http://www.queenlatifah.com/ Official website]
*{{imdb name|0001451|Queen Latifah}}
*[http://www.craveonline.com/filmtv/articles/04648210/queen_latifah_needs_some_sleep.html Queen Latifah Needs Some Sleep]
*[http://www.tv.com/queen-latifah/person/54643/summary.html?q=Queen%20Latifah&tag=search_results;title;0 Queen Latifah] at [[TV.com]]
{{Queen Latifah}}
[[Category:1970 births]]
[[Category:African American actors]]
[[Category:African American musicians]]
[[Category:African American rappers]]
[[Category:American actor-singers]]
[[Category:American dance musicians]]
[[Category:American female singers]]
[[Category:American film actors]]
[[Category:American rappers]]
[[Category:American television actors]]
[[Category:American television talk show hosts]]
[[Category:Baptists from the United States]]
[[Category:Best Miniseries or Television Movie Actress Golden Globe winners]]
[[Category:Female rappers]]
[[Category:Former Five Percenters]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:Hip hop singers]]
[[Category:Hollywood Walk of Fame]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Motown Records artists]]
[[Category:Native Tongues Posse]]
[[Category:New Jersey actors]]
[[Category:New Jersey musicians]]
[[Category:People from Newark, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Plus-size models]]
[[Category:People from Rumson, New Jersey]]
[[Category:People from East Orange, New Jersey]]
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