Queen Latifah's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) Living Single Khadijah Ja… People's Choice Awards 2009 Herself - H… 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons Queen Latifah VH1 Divas Queen Latif… Russell Simmons Presents: Brave New Voices Herself - N… The Queen Latifah Show Queen Latifah Tinseltown TV (UK) Queen Latifah

Main Movie Roles 2011 - The Dilemma 2010 - Just Wright 2010 - Valentine's Day 2009 - Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs 2008 - The Secret Life Of Bees 2008 - Mad Money 2008 - What Happens in Vegas... 2007 - The Perfect Holiday 2007 - Hairspray 2007 - Arctic Tale 2006 - Last Holiday 2006 - Ice Age 2: The Meltdown 2005 - Beauty Shop 2004 - Barbershop 2: Back in Business 2004 - The Cookout 2003 - Scary Movie 3 2003 - Bringing Down the House 2002 - The Country Bears 2002 - Pinocchio 2002 - Brown Sugar 2002 - Chicago 1999 - The Bone Collector 1999 - Bringing Out The Dead 1998 - Living Out Loud 1998 - Sphere 1997 - Hoodlum 1996 - Set It Off 1993 - Who's the Man? 1992 - Juice 1991 - House Party 2 1991 - Jungle Fever

BIOGRAPHY:

Hip-hop's first lady (though some would attribute that to Roxanne Shanté), the woman behind the moniker is Dana Owens, who was born on March 18th, 1970, in East Orange, New Jersey. She came from a police family--both her father and older brother were cops, which would later influence her rhyming style and life philosophy. Owens witnessed both sides of Black urban life in the USA while growing up. After a brief stint as a Burger King employee, she soon found herself making waves in the hip-hop music scene.

After working as the human beat box alongside Ladies Fresh, she was just 18 years old when she originally broke through in the late 1980s with a style that picked selectively from jazz, reggae, and soul traditions, from beats produced by 'D.J. Mark the 45 King'. Her debut single, "Wrath of My Madness," was released in 1988. A year later, her debut long-player, "All Hail the Queen," enjoyed favored reviews: an old, wise head was evident on the top of her young shoulders. The former Burger King employee maintained her early commitment to answer the misogynist armory of some of her male counterparts and, at the same time, imparted musical good times to all genders. Her name means "delicate and sensitive" in Arabic, but she has often been anything but in her rhymes and the messages she sends out through them. One of the most prominent female hip-hop artists on the scene for over a decade, Queen Latifah has also made tremendous inroads in movies, television, and artist management, with her management company, Flavor Unit, alongside her business partner Shakim Compere. A role model who takes the responsibility to heart, Latifah carefully constructed a fine career for herself--one that is constantly moving upward.


TRIVIA:

• (July 1995) Carjacked and a friend was shot.
• Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2005 Razzie Award nominating ballot. She was listed as a suggestion in the Worst Actress category for her performances in the films _Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004)_ (qv), _The Cookout (2004)_ (qv), and _Taxi (2004/I)_ (qv), however, she failed to receive a nomination.
• She was nicknamed "Latifah" (Arabic for delicate and sensitive) by a cousin while she was in her teens.
• She is of both African American and Native American descent.
• (6 Feb 1996) Arrested for assaulting a photographer.
• DJ Tocadisco's song "Nobody (Likes The Records That I Play)" is based on a sample from the film _Juice (1992)_ (qv) spoken by Queen Latifah.
• Had to coach her _Bringing Down the House (2003)_ (qv) co-stars 'Steve Martin (I)' (qv) and 'Eugene Levy' (qv) in hip-hop slang.
• Played power forward on the Irvington Public High School girls' basketball team and led them to two New Jersey state championships.