Queen Latifah

Biography

Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album All Hail the Queen on November 28, 1989, featuring the hit single "Ladies First". Nature of a Sista' (1991) was her second and final album with Tommy Boy Records. Latifah starred as Khadijah James on the Fox sitcom Living Single from 1993 to 1998. Her third album, Black Reign (1993), became the first album by a solo female rapper to receive a RIAA certification, and spawned the single "U.N.I.T.Y.", which was influential in raising awareness of violence against women and the objectification of Black female sexuality. The record won a Grammy Award and peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. She then starred in the lead role of Set It Off (1996) and released her fourth album, Order in the Court, on June 16, 1998, with Motown Records. Latifah garnered acclaim with her role of Matron "Mama" Morton in the musical film Chicago (2002), receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Latifah released her fifth album The Dana Owens Album in 2004. In 2007 and 2009, she released two more studio albums – Trav'lin' Light and Persona. She created the daytime talk show The Queen Latifah Show, which ran from 1999 to 2001, and again from 2013 to 2015, in syndication. She has appeared in a number of films, such as Bringing Down the House (2003), Taxi (2004), Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2005), Beauty Shop (2005), Last Holiday (2006), Hairspray (2007), Joyful Noise (2012), 22 Jump Street (2014) and Girls Trip (2017) and provided voice work in the Ice Age film series. Latifah received critical acclaim for her portrayal of blues singer Bessie Smith in the HBO film Bessie (2015), which she co-produced, winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie. From 2016 to 2019, she starred as Carlotta Brown in the musical drama series Star. In 2020, she portrayed Hattie McDaniel in the miniseries Hollywood. Queen Latifah has been referred to as the "Queen of Rap" by several media articles, as well as "rap's first feminist". Latifah became the first hip hop artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (2006). Latifah's work in music, film and television has earned her a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, and an Academy Award nomination. Description above from the Wikipedia article Queen Latifah, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Ellie (voice)

Ice Age: The Meltdown

Penny Escher

Stranger Than Fiction

Alice 'Teeny' Fletcher

Sphere

Matron Mama Morton

Chicago

Sasha Franklin

Girls Trip 2

Charlene Morton

Bringing Down the House

Motormouth Maybelle

Hairspray

Aunt Shaneequa / The Oracle

Scary Movie 3

Narrator

Arctic Tale

Aunt Em

The Muppets' Wizard of Oz

Isabelle 'Belle' Williams

Taxi

Gina

Barbershop 2: Back in Business

Sulie

Hoodlum

Ellie (voice)

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Nina Brewster

Mad Money

Dispatcher Love (voice)

Bringing Out the Dead

Dr. Twitchell

What Happens in Vegas

Thelma

The Bone Collector

August Boatwright

The Secret Life of Bees

Queen Latifah

Who's the Man?

Paula Thomas

Valentine's Day

Cleo

Set It Off

Gina Norris

Beauty Shop

Theresa

My Life

Dana

The Dilemma

Leslie Wright

Just Wright

Self

2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Zora

House Party 2

Vi Rose Hill

Joyful Noise

Ruffhouse M.C.

Juice

Francine

Brown Sugar

Georgia Byrd

Last Holiday

Self (archive footage)

You're Watching Video Music Box

Liz Bailey

Living Out Loud

Ana

Life Support

Ellie (voice)

Ice Age: Continental Drift

Ellie (voice)

Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas

Self - Perfomer

One Love: The Bob Marley All-Star tribute

Self

Zac Efron's Pool Party

M'Lynn

Steel Magnolias

Nicole

House of Bodies

Self

2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Mrs. Dickson (uncredited)

22 Jump Street

Self

Slammin' Rap Video Magazine Vol. 1

Bessie Smith

Bessie

Self

Yo! The Story of ‘Yo! MTV Raps’

Self

A GRAMMY Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop

The Wiz

The Wiz Live!

Angela Bradford

Miracles from Heaven

Ellie (voice)

Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade

Mrs. Christmas

The Perfect Holiday

Sasha Franklin

Girls Trip

Ellie (voice)

Ice Age: Collision Course

Lashawn

Jungle Fever

Cha-Cha

The Country Bears

Self

Michael Jackson Memorial

Garrett's Gift

Midge Harmon

Living with the Dead

Iza Banks

Flint

Self

And the Winner Isn't

Self

Teach

Security Guard

The Cookout

Self

Tony Bennett: Duets II - The Great Performances

Self

The Making of the Wiz Live!

Dr. Obayuwana

The Trap

Host

Mama Africa

King of the South

Ursula

The Little Mermaid Live!

Self - Host

Platinum Comedy Series: Roasting Shaquille O'Neal

Self

We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial

Teresa Sugerman

Hustle

Brenda Freeman

End of the Road

Willie May

The Tiger Rising

Self

The Earth Day Special

Ellie (voice)

Ice Age 6

Self (archive)

Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1980s, 1990s and 2000s

Self

Unearthing the Lost World | Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Self

Sesame Street: What's the Name of That Song?

Self

I Hate The Way I Look