Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album All Hail the Queen on November 28, 1989, featuring the hit single "Ladies First". Nature of a Sista' (1991) was her second and final album with Tommy Boy Records.
Latifah starred as Khadijah James on the Fox sitcom Living Single from 1993 to 1998. Her third album, Black Reign (1993), became the first album by a solo female rapper to receive a RIAA certification, and spawned the single "U.N.I.T.Y.", which was influential in raising awareness of violence against women and the objectification of Black female sexuality. The record won a Grammy Award and peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. She then starred in the lead role of Set It Off (1996) and released her fourth album, Order in the Court, on June 16, 1998, with Motown Records. Latifah garnered acclaim with her role of Matron "Mama" Morton in the musical film Chicago (2002), receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Latifah released her fifth album The Dana Owens Album in 2004. In 2007 and 2009, she released two more studio albums – Trav'lin' Light and Persona. She created the daytime talk show The Queen Latifah Show, which ran from 1999 to 2001, and again from 2013 to 2015, in syndication. She has appeared in a number of films, such as Bringing Down the House (2003), Taxi (2004), Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2005), Beauty Shop (2005), Last Holiday (2006), Hairspray (2007), Joyful Noise (2012), 22 Jump Street (2014) and Girls Trip (2017) and provided voice work in the Ice Age film series. Latifah received critical acclaim for her portrayal of blues singer Bessie Smith in the HBO film Bessie (2015), which she co-produced, winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie. From 2016 to 2019, she starred as Carlotta Brown in the musical drama series Star. In 2020, she portrayed Hattie McDaniel in the miniseries Hollywood.
Queen Latifah has been referred to as the "Queen of Rap" by several media articles, as well as "rap's first feminist". Latifah became the first hip hop artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (2006). Latifah's work in music, film and television has earned her a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, and an Academy Award nomination.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Queen Latifah, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
You're Watching Video Music Box
Self (archive footage)
2021
2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Self
2021
Ice Age: Continental Drift
Ellie (voice)
2012
Joyful Noise
Vi Rose Hill
2012
Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas
Ellie (voice)
2011
The Dilemma
Dana
2011
Just Wright
Leslie Wright
2010
Valentine's Day
Paula Thomas
2010
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Ellie (voice)
2009
The Secret Life of Bees
August Boatwright
2008
What Happens in Vegas
Dr. Twitchell
2008
Mad Money
Nina Brewster
2008
Hairspray
Motormouth Maybelle
2007
Arctic Tale
Narrator
2007
Life Support
Ana
2007
Stranger Than Fiction
Penny Escher
2006
Ice Age: The Meltdown
Ellie (voice)
2006
Last Holiday
Georgia Byrd
2006
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz
Aunt Em
2005
Beauty Shop
Gina Norris
2005
Taxi
Isabelle 'Belle' Williams
2004
Barbershop 2: Back in Business
Gina
2004
Scary Movie 3
Aunt Shaneequa / The Oracle
2003
Bringing Down the House
Charlene Morton
2003
Chicago
Matron Mama Morton
2002
Brown Sugar
Francine
2002
The Bone Collector
Thelma
1999
Sphere
Alice 'Teeny' Fletcher
1998
Girls Trip 2
Sasha Franklin
Ice Age 6
Ellie (voice)
2026
A GRAMMY Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop
Self
2023
2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Self
2023
End of the Road
Brenda Freeman
2022
Hustle
Teresa Sugerman
2022
The Tiger Rising
Willie May
2022
The Little Mermaid Live!
Ursula
2019
The Trap
Dr. Obayuwana
2019
And the Winner Isn't
Self
2017
Flint
Iza Banks
2017
Girls Trip
Sasha Franklin
2017
Ice Age: Collision Course
Ellie (voice)
2016
Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade
Ellie (voice)
2016
Miracles from Heaven
Angela Bradford
2016
The Wiz Live!
The Wiz
2015
The Making of the Wiz Live!
Self
2015
Bessie
Bessie Smith
2015
22 Jump Street
Mrs. Dickson (uncredited)
2014
Teach
Self
2013
House of Bodies
Nicole
2013
Steel Magnolias
M'Lynn
2012
Yo! The Story of ‘Yo! MTV Raps’
Self
2012
Tony Bennett: Duets II - The Great Performances
Self
2012
Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1980s, 1990s and 2000s
Self (archive)
2009
Michael Jackson Memorial
Self
2009
Zac Efron's Pool Party
Self
2009
We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial
Self
2009
Garrett's Gift
2008
The Perfect Holiday
Mrs. Christmas
2007
The Cookout
Security Guard
2004
The Country Bears
Cha-Cha
2002
Mama Africa
Host
2002
Living with the Dead
Midge Harmon
2002
Platinum Comedy Series: Roasting Shaquille O'Neal
Self - Host
2002
One Love: The Bob Marley All-Star tribute
Self - Perfomer
1999
Bringing Out the Dead
Dispatcher Love (voice)
1999
Living Out Loud
Liz Bailey
1998
Hoodlum
Sulie
1997
Set It Off
Cleo
1996
My Life
Theresa
1993
Who's the Man?
Queen Latifah
1993
Juice
Ruffhouse M.C.
1992
House Party 2
Zora
1991
Jungle Fever
Lashawn
1991
The Earth Day Special
Self
1990
Slammin' Rap Video Magazine Vol. 1
Self
1990
King of the South
Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop
(4 episodes)
2023
Sherri
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
2022
Maya and the Three
Gran Bruja (voice) · (9 episodes)
2021
The Equalizer
Robyn McCall · (74 episodes)
2021
Hollywood
Hattie McDaniel · (7 episodes)
2020
When the Streetlights Go On
Detective Grasso · (10 episodes)
2020
Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America
Self · (6 episodes)
2019
Untold Stories of Hip Hop
Self · (1 episode)
2019
The Kelly Clarkson Show
(1 episode)
2019
Carpool Karaoke: The Series
Self · (1 episode)
2017
Star
Carlotta Brown · (48 episodes)
2016
Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party
(1 episode)
2016
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Self · (1 episode)
2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
(1 episode)
2015
Lip Sync Battle
Self · (1 episode)
2015
Hot Ones
Self · (1 episode)
2015
Empire
Carlotta Brown · (1 episode)
2015
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Self · (1 episode)
2014
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Self · (2 episodes)
2014
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
2014
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Self · (4 episodes)
2014
Finding Your Roots
Self · (1 episode)
2012
The Talk
(3 episodes)
2010
Hot in Cleveland
Aunt Esther Jean Johnson · (1 episode)
2010
Unearthing the Lost World | Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Self
2009
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Self - Guest · (4 episodes)
2009
30 Rock
Regina Bookman · (1 episode)
2006
VH1 Rock Honors
(1 episode)
2006
The Reichen Show
Self - Guest · (2 episodes)
2005
The Tyra Banks Show
(1 episode)
2005
Hogan Knows Best
(1 episode)
2005
Sesame Street: What's the Name of That Song?
Self
2004
I Love the '80s Strikes Back
(10 episodes)
2003
Eve
Simone · (1 episode)
2003
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Self · (7 episodes)
2003
America's Next Top Model
Guest · (1 episode)
2003
American Idol
Self · (1 episode)
2002
Good Day Live
Self · (1 episode)
2001
The Fairly OddParents
Pam Dromeda (voice) · (1 episode)
2001
The Queen Latifah Show
(2 episodes)
2000
The Early Show
Self · (1 episode)
1999
Mama Flora's Family
Diana · (2 episodes)
1998
The View
Self · (7 episodes)
1997
The View
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
1997
Spin City
Robin Jones · (2 episodes)
1996
The Daily Show
Self · (1 episode)
1996
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
1996
MADtv
Self - Hostess · (1 episode)
1995
Ellen
Queen Latifah (uncredited) · (1 episode)
1994
I Hate The Way I Look
Self
1994
The Critic
Queen Latifah (voice) · (1 episode)
1994
Intimate Portrait
Self (archive footage) · (2 episodes)
1993
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest · (5 episodes)
1993
Living Single
Khadijah James · (118 episodes)
1993
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
Queen Latifah · (1 episode)
1992
MTV Movie & TV Awards
Self - Presenter · (1 episode)
1992
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
(5 episodes)
1992
The Jenny Jones Show
(1 episode)
1991
Roc
(1 episode)
1991
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Marissa Redman · (2 episodes)
1990
Yo! MTV Raps
Self · (1 episode)
1988
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Self - Guest · (5 episodes)
1988
MTV Video Music Awards
Self · (1 episode)
1984
Entertainment Tonight
Self · (2 episodes)
1981
CBS News Sunday Morning
Self · (1 episode)
1979
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host · (1 episode)
1975
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host & Musical Guest · (1 episode)
1975
Saturday Night Live
Self - Cameo (uncredited) · (1 episode)
1975
Rock Concert
Self · (1 episode)
1973
The Grammys
Self - Host · (3 episodes)
1959
The Oscars
Self · (3 episodes)
1953
The Oscars
Self - Performer · (1 episode)
1953
Today
Self · (1 episode)
1952