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Quick Facts
- NAME: Queen Latifah
- OCCUPATION: Film Actress, Television Actress, Entrepreneur, Music Producer, Rapper, Singer
- BIRTH DATE: March 18, 1970 (Age: 43)
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Newark, New Jersey
- Full Name: Dana Elaine Owens
- AKA: Queen Latifah
- AKA: Dana Owens
- ZODIAC SIGN: Pisces
Best Known For
Queen Latifah is an American rapper, record producer and actress known for her roles in the films Set it Off, Bone Collector, Last Holiday and Chicago.
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Queen Latifah - Full Episode (45:06)
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Kim Fields - Full Biography (42:23)
Queen Latifah - Full Episode
She was nicknamed Latifah, which means "delicate and sensitive" in Arabic. She started her music career as a human beat box alongside rap group Ladies Fresh, and her album "Black Reign" was the first album by a female MC to ever go gold.
Queen Latifah - Mini Biography
A short biography of Queen Latifah who, as one of the first female rap artists, caught the music industry's attention with hits like "Unity." Since then, she's turned her stage personality into a franchise.
Kim Fields - Full Biography
Kim Fields was only 10 years old when she got a taste of stardom on TV's "The Facts of Life" as "Tootie."
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Play NowDana Owens. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 04:35, May 19, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/queen-latifah-9542419.
Dana Owens. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/queen-latifah-9542419 [Accessed 19 May 2013].
"Dana Owens." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 19 2013, 04:35 http://www.biography.com/people/queen-latifah-9542419.
"Dana Owens," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/queen-latifah-9542419 [accessed May 19, 2013].
"Dana Owens," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/queen-latifah-9542419 (accessed May 19, 2013).
Dana Owens [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 19] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/queen-latifah-9542419.
Dana Owens, http://www.biography.com/people/queen-latifah-9542419 (last visited May 19, 2013).
Dana Owens. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/queen-latifah-9542419. Accessed May 19, 2013.
By late 1993, the company had signed 17 rap groups, including the very successful Naughty by Nature. In 1993, Latifah recorded a jazz- and reggae-influenced album titled Black Reign. While the album sold more than 500,000 copies, the single "U.N.I.T.Y." earned Latifah her first Grammy Award in 1995.
Acting Success
In the 1990s, Latifah branched out into acting. She made her big screen debut in Spike Lee's interracial romance drama Jungle Fever (1991). The following year, Latifah appeared in the crime thriller Juice with Omar Epps and Tupac Shakur. She soon landed a leading role on the small screen, appearing in the sitcom Living Single from 1993 to '98. The comedy, which also starred Kim Coles, Kim Fields and Erika Alexander, proved to be a ground-breaking show. It remains one of the few sitcoms to focus on a group of African-American women.
A talented performer, Latifah continued to tackle both comedic and dramatic parts. She co-starred in 1996's Set It Off with Jada Pinkett Smith and Vivica A. Fox, playing as a lesbian bank robber. Two years later, Latifah teamed up with Holly Hunter and Danny DeVito for the comedy Living Out Loud (1998). She also appeared with Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie in The Bone Collector.
Perhaps Latifah's most acclaimed film role to date came in the 2002 hit musical Chicago, starring Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger. Her portrayal of prison matron Mama Morton gave her a chance to show off both her singing talents and acting skills. For her work in the film, Latifah earned an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress. She lost to Chicago co-star Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Latifah went on to receive strong reviews for 2003's romantic comedy Bringing Down the House co-starring with Steve Martin. The following year, she experienced some disappointment with Taxi, which co-starred Jimmy Fallon. The comedy proved to be a critical and commercial dud. She fared better with Beauty Shop (2005) and her voice-over work in the hit animated film Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006).
In 2007, Queen Latifah again delighted movie-goers with her musical talents. She appeared as Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray with John Travolta. Her crime caper Mad Money (2008) with Diane Keaton and Katie Holmes received much colder reception. Returning to drama, Latifah gave a strong performance in The Secret Life of Bees (2008).
On the small screen, Latifah has made a number of guest television appearances over the years, including on the shows 30 Rock and Single Ladies. She also co-starred in the 2012 TV remake of Steel Magnolias with Alfre Woodard, Phylicia Rashad and Jill Scott. Latifah branched out in a new direction the following year. She will enter the daytime television market with a new talk show. The Queen Latifah Show will debut in the fall of 2013. The program promises to be a mix of interviews and comedic and musical performances, according to BET.com.
In addition to acting, Queen Latifah serves as a spokesperson for CoverGirl cosmetics. She even has her own line with the company: The Queen Collection.
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View groupWhen musicians land big fame, there typically comes a moment of reinvention in which the "rock star" identity is born. This new persona often requires a new name, a way to differentiate between the private and public versions of themselves. Musical monikers take different forms, from the simple, last-name changes aimed at boosting celebrity appeal—like Steven Tyler—to the glamorized version of a childhood nickname—like Jay-Z. Musicians' nicknames and aliases tend to take on an identity all their own over time, often becoming as full of personality as the artists they represent.
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