Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970),better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American singer, rapper, and actress. Queen 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.
Arrested for assaulting a photographer. [6 February 1996]
Arrested for carrying a loaded pistol & marijuana. [3 February 1996]
Carjacked and a friend was shot. [July 1995]
Older brother Lance Owens, who was a police officer, died in an accident on the motorcycle Latifah bought for him as a present. She still wears the motorcycle key around her neck.
Co-CEO of Flavor Unit Entertainment.
Had to coach her Bringing Down the House (2003) co-stars Steve Martin and Eugene Levy in hip-hop slang.
First female rapper to be nominated for an Academy Award.
Ranked #72 on VH1′s 100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll.
Was set to star in Monster’s Ball (2001) alongside Robert De Niro with Sean Penn directing. Unfortunately, producers could not set up the film in time and it was delayed and recast. Her role went to Halle Berry, and DeNiro’s to Billy Bob Thornton.
Played power forward on the Irvington Public High School girls’ basketball team and led them to two New Jersey state championships.
Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2005 Razzie Award nominating ballot. She was listed as a suggestion in the Worst Actress category for her performances in the films Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004), The Cookout (2004), and Taxi (2004/I), however, she failed to receive a nomination.
She won a Grammy in 1994 for Best Solo Rap Performance for “U.N.I.T.Y.”
She was nicknamed “Latifah” (Arabic for delicate and sensitive) by a cousin while she was in her teens.
DJ Tocadisco’s song “Nobody (Likes The Records That I Play)” is based on a sample from the film Juice (1992) spoken by Queen Latifah.
Became the first hip-hop artist honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. [4 January 2006]
Had not done any musical theatre since high school prior to her role in Chicago (2002).
Biography/bibliography in: “Contemporary Authors”. Volume 264, pages 284-285. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, Cengage Learning, 2008.
She is of both African American and Native American descent.
Of all her roles to date (2008), her personal favorite is Cleopatra Sims from Set It Off (1996).
Under her birth name, Dana Owens, Queen Latifah and her longtime personal trainer, Jeanette Jenkins, bought a 2,026-square-foot, 3-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom Los Angeles home together in late 2009. The list price for the property was $1,397,000.
She told the audience at a ‘Meet the Filmmaker’ event at the Apple Store in Soho, New York, that her ideal first project as a director would either be a science fiction film or a project based on a comic book (May 11, 2010).
Was in attendance at the wedding of her The Secret Life of Bees (2008) co-star Alicia Keys to Swizz Beatz (31 July 2010).
She was inducted into the 2011 New Jersey Hall of Fame for her contributions to Arts and Entertainment.
