Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970),
better known by her
stage name Queen Latifah, is an American
rapper,
singer, and
actress. 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.
Early life
Latifah was born and raised in the projects of
Newark, New Jersey, the daughter of Rita, a schoolteacher who worked at
Irvington High School, and Lancelot Owens, a policeman.
[Queen Latifah Biography (1970-)][Stated in interview on Inside the Actors Studio, 2006] Her parents divorced when Latifah was ten.
Latifah performed the number "Home" from the musical
The Wiz in a high school play.
[Queen Latifah | Music Artist | Videos, News, Photos & Ringtones | MTV] Her stage name,
Latifah (لطيفة), meaning "kind" in
Arabic, was given to her when she was eight by her cousin.
Latifah was raised in the
Baptist church,
[Queen Latifah Discusses God, Jesus, Rap, and Her New Movie, 'Last Holiday,' in this Beliefnet Interview - Beliefnet.com] and, while in high school, was a power forward on her basketball team.
['Queen' Of Many Hats, Queen Latifah Makes Jump From Hip Hop Artist To Actress - CBS News]
Recording and acting career
Recording artist
Latifah started her career
beatboxing for the rap group
Ladies Fresh. She also sang in front of town hall in
Provincetown, Massachusetts and in the post office cafe.
Latifah was one of the members of the original version of the Flavor Unit, which, at that time, was a crew of MC's grouped around producer
DJ Mark the 45 King. At the same time, Latifah was a pole dancer at a night club in Brooklyn called Bigger and Better. In 1988, DJ Mark the 45 King heard a demo version of Latifah's single "Princess of the Posse" and gave the demo to
Fab Five Freddy, who was the host of
Yo! MTV Raps. Freddy helped Latifah sign with
Tommy Boy Records, which released Latifah's first album
All Hail the Queen in 1989, when she was nineteen.
That year, she appeared as Referee on the UK label Music of Life album "1989—The Hustlers Convention (live)". In 1998, Co Produced by Ro Smith now CEO of Def Ro Inc. she released her fourth hip-hop album
Order in the Court.
