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Queen Latifah Information
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'Dana Elaine Owens' (born March 18, 1970), better known as 'Queen Latifah', is an American Grammy Award-winning rap artist and Academy Award-nominated actress.
'Early life'
Latifah was born in Newark, New Jersey to Lancelot Owens (a police officer) and Rita (a high-school music teacher); they divorced when she was eight years old. Her first big success was singing the number "Home" from The Wiz in a school performance of the musical.
'Rap career'
She started her career beatboxing for the rap group Ladies Fresh. In 1988, local 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 at the time hosted Yo! MTV Raps). Freddy helped Latifah get signed to Tommy Boy Records, which released Latifah's first album, All Hail the Queen, in (1989); at the time, she was 18. This debut was critically acclaimed as one of the best hip hop albums of all time and was followed by Nature of a Sista, another well-reviewed album.
In 1998, she released another album, entitled Order in the Court.
'Film career'
From 1993 to 1998, Latifah had a starring role on Living Single, a FOX sitcom; she also wrote and performed its theme music. She began her film career as a supporting actress in movies like House Party 2 (1991) and Set It Off (1996).
Her first big role was in the film version of the musical Chicago; her performance as Matron "Mama" Morton received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Latifah did not win the Oscar in 2003; however, that year she co-starred with Steve Martin in the film Bringing Down the House, which was a big success at the box office. Since then, she has had both leading and supporting roles in a multitude of films that received varied critical and box office receptions, including Scary Movie 3, Barbershop 2: Back in Business, Taxi, and Beauty Shop.
Latifah is a celebrity spokesperson for Cover Girl cosmetics and starred in a commercial with fellow spokeswoman and singer, Faith Hill. She also had her own talk show, Queen Latifah Show, from 1999 to 2001.
'Personal life'
Latifah's older brother Lance was killed in 1992, in a biking accident involving the motorbike that Latifah had just bought him. She still wears the key to the bike around her neck. Latifah released an album dedicated to him, Black Reign, which was a hit partly because of a hit single, U.N.I.T.Y. In 1995, she was the victim of a carjacking, in which a friend of hers was shot. In 1996, she was arrested due to possession of a small amount of marijuana and a hand gun; she was fined and sentenced to two years probation.
Her stage name, Latifah, means "delicate" and "sensitive" in Arabic. It was given to her when she was eight by her cousin.
'Discography'
*1989 All Hail the Queen (Tommy Boy)
*1991 Nature of a Sista (Tommy Boy)
*1993 Black Reign (Motown)
*1998 Order in the Court (Motown)
*2004 Dana Owens Album (Interscope)
*2005 babe (friend)
'Selected filmography'
'Awards'
Academy Award
*Best Supporting Actress Chicago nomination
BET Award
*Best Actress 2003
Golden Globes
*Best Supporting Actress Chicago nomination
Image Award
*Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture Bringing Down the House 2004
SAG Award
*Best Ensemble Chicago
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