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IMDbPro

Queen Latifah

  • Producer
  • Actress
  • Music Department
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,000247
Queen Latifah
Watch Queen Latifah
Play video2:33
Queen Latifah
88 Videos
99+ Photos
Often considered hip-hop's first lady, the woman behind the moniker Queen Latifah was born Dana Elaine Owens on March 18, 1970, in East Orange, New Jersey. She is the daughter of Rita (Bray), a teacher, and Lancelot Owens Sr. She came from a police family-both her father and her older brother were cops-which would later influence her rhyming style and life philosophy. Her brother died in a motorcycle accident in 1992. 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 beatbox alongside Ladies Fresh, she was just 18 years old when she 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 answering 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 has carefully constructed a fine career for herself-one that is constantly moving upward.
BornMarch 18, 1970
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornMarch 18, 1970
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,000247
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar

Before They Were Famous: Actors' Early Roles

Before They Were Famous: Actors' Early Roles

See photos of celebrities like Jenna Ortega and Noah Centineo before they hit the big-time, and revisit some of their earliest onscreen roles.
See the full gallery
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Photos

Photos774

Queen Latifah in End of the Road (2022)
Queen Latifah, Ludacris, Shaun Dixon, and Mychala Lee in End of the Road (2022)
Queen Latifah and Ludacris in End of the Road (2022)
Adam Sandler and Queen Latifah in Hustle (2022)
Adam Sandler and Queen Latifah in Hustle (2022)
Queen Latifah and Sam Trammell in The Tiger Rising (2022)
Queen Latifah in The Tiger Rising (2022)
Queen Latifah in The Tiger Rising (2022)
Queen Latifah and Madalen Mills in The Tiger Rising (2022)
Queen Latifah in The Equalizer (2021)
Queen Latifah in Saturday Night Live (1975)
Queen Latifah and Stephen Colbert in Queen Latifah/Radhika Jones (2019)

Known for

Richard Gere, Renée Zellweger, and Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago (2002)
Chicago
7.2
  • Matron Mama Morton
  • 2002
Michelle Pfeiffer, John Travolta, Christopher Walken, Queen Latifah, Amanda Bynes, Allison Janney, James Marsden, Elijah Kelley, Brittany Snow, Zac Efron, and Nikki Blonsky in Hairspray (2007)
Hairspray
6.7
  • Motormouth Maybelle
  • 2007
Steve Martin and Queen Latifah in Bringing Down the House (2003)
Bringing Down the House
5.6
  • Producer
  • 2003
Queen Latifah, Ana Cristina de Oliveira, Jimmy Fallon, Ingrid Vandebosch, and Gisele Bündchen in Taxi (2004)
Taxi
4.5
  • Isabelle 'Belle' Williams
  • 2004

Credits

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IMDbPro

Producer

  • Untitled Solvan Naim Project
    • In Development
  • Paper Chase
    • Pre-production
  • Queen Latifah in The Equalizer (2021)
    The Equalizer
  • Queen Latifah, Ludacris, Shaun Dixon, and Mychala Lee in End of the Road (2022)
    End of the Road
  • Dennis Quaid, Queen Latifah, Madalen Mills, Schicka, and Christian Convery in The Tiger Rising (2022)
    The Tiger Rising
  • Salt-N-Pepa (2021)
    Salt-N-Pepa
  • Raven Goodwin, Christina Bell, Kierra Sheard-Kelly, Shelea Frazier, and Angela Birchett in The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel (2020)
    The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel
  • Willa Fitzgerald in Scream: The TV Series (2015)
    Scream: The TV Series
  • Queen Latifah, Ryan Destiny, Jude Demorest, and Brittany O'Grady in Star (2016)
    Star
  • Ballet After Dark (2019)
    Ballet After Dark
  • Mike Epps in The Trap (2019)
    The Trap
  • The Rap Game (2016)
    The Rap Game
  • Queen Latifah and Betsy Brandt in Flint (2017)
    Flint
  • Dear Mama: An Event to Honor Moms
  • The Best Place to Be (2017)
    The Best Place to Be
  • Timbaland, Ian Grey, and April Kennedy in The Pop Game (2017)
    The Pop Game
  • Ellen Hollman in The Secrets of Emily Blair (2016)
    The Secrets of Emily Blair

Actress

  • Girls Trip 2
    • Pre-production
  • King of the South
    • Pre-production
  • Paper Chase
    • Pre-production
  • Queen Latifah in The Equalizer (2021)
    The Equalizer
  • Queen Latifah, Ludacris, Shaun Dixon, and Mychala Lee in End of the Road (2022)
    End of the Road
  • Adam Sandler in Hustle (2022)
    Hustle
  • Dennis Quaid, Queen Latifah, Madalen Mills, Schicka, and Christian Convery in The Tiger Rising (2022)
    The Tiger Rising
  • Gabriel Iglesias, Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, Allen Maldonado, and Stephanie Beatriz in Maya and the Three (2021)
    Maya and the Three
    • (voice)
  • Hollywood (2020)
    Hollywood
  • When the Streetlights Go On (2017)
    When the Streetlights Go On
  • Queen Latifah, John Stamos, Shaggy, Graham Phillips, and Auli'i Cravalho in The Wonderful World of Disney (1997)
    The Little Mermaid Live!
  • Queen Latifah, Ryan Destiny, Jude Demorest, and Brittany O'Grady in Star (2016)
    Star
  • Mike Epps in The Trap (2019)
    The Trap
  • Queen Latifah and Betsy Brandt in Flint (2017)
    Flint
  • Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson in Empire (2015)
    Empire
  • Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Regina Hall, and Tiffany Haddish in Girls Trip (2017)
    Girls Trip
  • John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Ray Romano, Seann William Scott, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Josh Peck, Simon Pegg, and Jessie J in Ice Age: Collision Course (2016)
    Ice Age: Collision Course
    • (voice)
  • Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade (2016)
    Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade
    • (voice)

Music Department

  • Queen Latifah in Bessie (2015)
    Bessie
  • Just Wright (2010)
    Just Wright
  • Dancing with the Stars (2005)
    Dancing with the Stars
  • Queen Latifah, Ana Cristina de Oliveira, Jimmy Fallon, Ingrid Vandebosch, and Gisele Bündchen in Taxi (2004)
    Taxi
  • Queen Latifah, Erika Alexander, Kim Fields, Terrence 'T.C.' Carson, Kim Coles, and John Henton in Living Single (1993)
    Living Single
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos89

Russell Simmons Presents Brave New Voices
Full Episode 28:36
Russell Simmons Presents Brave New Voices
Our 5 Favorites on Quibi
Clip 3:31
Our 5 Favorites on Quibi
Joyful Noise
Clip 0:55
Joyful Noise
Joyful Noise
Clip 0:56
Joyful Noise
Bringing Down the House: 10th Anniversary Edition
Clip 1:12
Bringing Down the House: 10th Anniversary Edition
Bringing Down the House: 10th Anniversary Edition
Clip 1:35
Bringing Down the House: 10th Anniversary Edition
Bringing Down the House: 10th Anniversary Edition
Clip 0:51
Bringing Down the House: 10th Anniversary Edition
Joyful Noise
Clip 1:32
Joyful Noise
Hairspray
Clip 0:44
Hairspray
Just Wright
Clip 1:13
Just Wright
Just Wright
Clip 0:21
Just Wright
Just Wright
Clip 0:50
Just Wright

Personal details

Edit
  • Official sites
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • March 18, 1970
    • Newark, New Jersey, USA
    • Rita Owens
    • (No Children)
  • Other works
    Music video for Naughty By Nature: "O.P.P."
  • Publicity listings
    • 2 Print Biographies
    • 1 Portrayal
    • 14 Interviews
    • 11 Articles
    • 2 Pictorials
    • 8 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Older brother Lance Owens, who was a police officer, died in an accident on the motorcycle Latifah had bought for him as a present. She still wears the motorcycle key around her neck.
  • Quotes
    I think it's important to create projects as an actor rather than wait for them. I love being able to take an idea and sell it to a studio.
    • Beauty Shop
      (2005)
      $10,000,000

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