Queen Latifah



Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress and singer. Queen Latifah's work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy Award nomination and an Academy Award nomination. She was born and raised in East Orange, New Jersey, the daughter of Rita (née Bray), a schoolteacher who worked at Irvington High School, and Lancelot Owens, Sr., a police officer. Her parents divorced when Latifah was ten. Latifah was raised in the Baptist church and attended Catholic school in Newark, New Jersey. Her stage name, Latifah (لطيفة Laṭīfah), meaning "delicate" and "very kind" in Arabic, was given to her by her cousin when she was eight. Always a tall girl, the 5'10" Latifah was a power forward on her high school basketball team. She performed the number "Home" from the musical The Wiz in a high school play.

She started beatboxing for the rap group Ladies Fresh. 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. Mark James aka "DJ Mark the 45 King" made a demo recording of Queen Latifah's rap Princess of the Posse. He gave the recording to the host of ''Yo! MTV Raps'', Fab 5 Freddy. The song got the attention of Tommy Boy Music employee Dante Ross, who signed Latifah and in 1988 issued her first single, "Wrath of My Madness".

Notable songs

 * "Ladies First"
 * "Latifah's Had It Up 2 Here"
 * "U.N.I.T.Y."
 * "Black Hand Side"
 * "Just Another Day..."
 * "I Can't Understand"

Discography

 * 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
 * 2009: Persona

Works Queen has appeared in:

 * Living Single
 * Set It Off
 * Chicago
 * Bringing Down the House
 * Hairspray
 * Last Holiday
 * Stranger Than Fiction