Queen Latifah
- Queen Latifah was born Dana Elaine Owens on March 18, 1970, in Newark, New Jersey.
- She released her debut album All Hail the Queen in 1989 at age 19, featuring the hit “Ladies First.”
- In 1995, she won a Grammy Award for her powerful anthem “U.N.I.T.Y.”
- Her acting breakthrough came with the sitcom Living Single, which aired from 1993 to 1998.
- She was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in Chicago (2002).
- Latifah was the first female rapper to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006.
- In 2021, she received the BET Lifetime Achievement Award — the first rapper to do so.
- She became the first female rapper to be honored by the Kennedy Center in 2023.
- Queen Latifah is known for her activism around women’s rights, body positivity, and LGBTQ+ equality.
- Her stage name, “Latifah,” means “delicate” and “kind” in Arabic.