Queen Latifah started as a part of a high school group called Ladies Fresh and made it to the Grammys!Born as Dana Elaine Owens in New Jersey, Queen Latifah was the daughter of Rita and Lancelot Owens Sr. Her career has seen highs and lows and has been mostly stable in recent years.If you have been wondering where the moniker comes from, Dana Owens chose this as her stage name after one of her cousins gave her a rather unusual name. Her Muslim cousin gave Dana the nickname Latifah, which means ‘delicate’ in Arabic. The name somehow stuck with the artist and ended up being the name by which the world would know her.Queen Latifah’s journey is particularly inspiring because there is a clear trajectory from rags to riches. Furthermore, the fact that she started her career by talking about feminist issues is quite revolutionary. Understandably, Queen Latifah is not the first female rapper, but her name definitely made a dent in an industry that has always been largely male-dominated. Also, she cannot be diminished to being called just a singer. An actor, writer, and music producer, this woman is an inspiration for many. Keep reading to know more facts about Queen Latifah, her professional and private life!Film And Television ShowsQueen Latifah made her big-screen debut with ‘Jungle Fever’ in the year 1991, which is also when her second hip hop album was released.She was also making several appearances on television. She was signed to one as a co-star in a series named ‘Living Single’. She acted in movies such as ‘Brown Sugar’ and ‘The Bone Collector’ in the years 2002 and 1999 respectively. For her role in the big-screen rendition of a stage musical, ‘Chicago’, Queen Latifah also received an Academy Award nomination. From this point onwards, her career catapulted to new heights. Her Oscar nomination was for the role of the Best Supporting Actress in ‘Chicago’.With a Grammy and an Oscar to her name, Queen Latifah kept working in movies such as ‘Beauty Shop’, ‘Bringing Down the House’, ‘Girls Trip’, and ‘Last Holiday’.In terms of the work she did on the small screen, she was signed for a show called ‘The Little Mermaid Live!’ and appeared on a show called ‘Star’ which was about three women that wanted to make it to stardom in the singing industry. She is currently working in a television series called ‘Equalizer’, where she plays a former CIA agent. The versatility of the roles that she has been playing throughout her career is therefore commendable.She even started ‘The Queen Latifah Show’ which ran successfully for three years in 1999. This happened while her acting career was on the rise and hence, the audience was amused to get to know the actress closely. Queen Latifah’s fanbase was also inspired by the strong woman that she is and the fact that she talked about pressing issues that nobody talked about. It was a daytime talk show and began around the same time as the publishing of her book.Personal Life Of Queen LatifahBorn Dana Elaine Owens at East Orange, New Jersey, Queen Latifah made her start towards stardom through her album ‘All Hail the Queen’. Even though Owens comes off as a jolly and extroverted person through her characters, she said in an interview with the New York Times that she was not particularly comfortable talking about her personal life.What does meet the public eye is that Queen Latifah had a few run-ins with the law. In a particularly rough patch of her life, a police officer found her in possession of contraband as well as a gun, for which she pleaded guilty and was fined. She also faced three years of probation when she failed to prove her sobriety when caught speeding.Music Career Of Queen LatifahQueen Latifah is known mostly as a rapper, although, her talent can hardly be contained under the realm of one title.The Grammy award winner was primarily a singer and it was only later that she found a knack for acting and modeling. Since she was brought up in the Baptist faith, she used the Church as a way of honing her skills as a singer. In high school, Queen Latifah joined a group named Ladies Fresh and also started making her own individual attempts at making it as a rapper. Her first song, Princess of the Posse, was played by the host of Yo! MTv Raps and ended up catching the attention of a team member at Tommy Boy. The name of this team member was Dante Ross and he ended up becoming the medium through which Queen Latifah would make her appearance into the hip hop scene.Her single, Wrath of My Madness, did exceptionally well and was her entry through the gates of rap music. This happened in 1988, and in the very next year, Queen Latifah released her first album, named ‘All Hail The Queen’. This Queen Latifah or Dana Owens album did very well and sold over a million copies. With the money that she earned from this first successful attempt, she thought of making her move as a record producer and became the CEO of Flavor Unit Records and Management. This project of hers bore fruit in the next two years, and she also ended up introducing many rap groups through it. Naughty by Nature was also first signed by this new company owned by Queen Latifah.Her musical career saw a dip in 1991 when she released her second album, ‘Nature of a Sista’. It did not do as well as her first album, ‘All Hail the Queen’, and hence, Tommy Boy dropped their contract with her. Although, that later proved to be a wrong move since her next hip hop album, Black Reign, was to be a huge success. One of the songs from Black Reign named U.N.I.T.Y, which talked about pressing women’s issues, even earned her a Grammy award. Her fourth album was released after she was signed by Motown Records.The demo tape of Queen Latifah’s rap Princess of the Posse was therefore just the beginning of a long career in music and on the big screen. Over the next few years, she emerged as a jazz, reggae, and blues singer, as she made her big-screen appearance and kept working in many movies.Did You Know…Queen Latifah’s natural hair is black in color and is luscious.She was born on March 18, 1970.She works as a spokesperson for Covergirl Cosmetics. Additionally, she has her own line with the company, named the Queen Collection.
Queen Latifah started as a part of a high school group called Ladies Fresh and made it to the Grammys!
