Queen Latifah

▪ 2004

      During 2003 American performer Queen Latifah, already a star of the music industry as one of the first female rappers, proved that she was big-screen royalty as well. In February she received her first Academy Award nomination (best supporting actress) for her portrayal of jail warden Matron “Mama” Morton in the musical Chicago (2002), which later won an Oscar for best film. Soon after, the comedy Bringing Down the House (2003), in which she costarred with Steve Martin as a convicted bank robber seeking to prove her innocence, hit theatres. Queen Latifah, who also served as the film's executive producer, was praised for her charismatic and witty performance. The film opened atop the box office and went on to earn more than $130 million. She later signed to star in the comedy Beauty Shop, a spin-off of the hugely popular Barbershop (2002). In 2003 she was engaged in discussions on the making of a sequel, Barbershop 2.

      Born Dana Elaine Owens on March 18, 1970, in Newark, N.J., she was given the nickname Latifah (Arabic: “delicate” or “sensitive”) as a child and later adopted the moniker Queen Latifah. In high school she was a member of the all-female rap group Ladies Fresh, and while studying communications at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, she recorded a demo tape that caught the attention of Tommy Boy Records, which signed the 18-year-old. In 1988 she released her first single, “Wrath of My Madness,” and the following year All Hail the Queen, her debut album, appeared. Propelled by diverse styles—including soul, reggae, and dance—and feminist themes, it earned positive reviews and attracted a wide audience. Soon after, Queen Latifah founded her own management company. Her second album, Nature of a Sista (1991), however, failed to match the sales of her previous effort, and Tommy Boy did not re-sign her. After signing with Motown Records, she released Black Reign in 1993. The album was a critical and commercial hit, and the single “U.N.I.T.Y.,” which decried sexism and violence against women, earned a Grammy Award. Queen Latifah's success launched a wave of female rappers and helped redefine the traditionally male genre.

      As her achievements in the recording studio grew, Queen Latifah looked to expand her horizons. In 1991 she made her big-screen debut in Jungle Fever, and after several television appearances, she was signed in 1993 to costar in the series Living Single. After the show ended in 1998, Queen Latifah returned to the big screen, playing a jazz singer in the 1998 film Living Out Loud. Her commanding screen presence brought roles in more films, including The Bone Collector (1999) and Brown Sugar (2002). In 1999 she began a two-year stint of hosting her own daytime talk show, and the same year she made her debut in the publishing world, releasing the aptly titled Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman (co-written with Karen Hunter).

Amy Tikkanen

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▪ American musician and actress

byname of  Dana Elaine Owens 

born March 18, 1970, Newark, N.J., U.S.

 

 American musician and actress, whose success in the late 1980s launched a wave of female rappers and helped redefine the traditionally male genre. She later became a notable film actress.

      Owens was given the nickname Latifah (Arabic for “delicate” or “sensitive”) as a child and later adopted the moniker Queen Latifah. In high school she was a member of the all-female rap group Ladies Fresh, and, while studying communications at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, she recorded a demo tape that caught the attention of Tommy Boy Records, which signed the 18-year-old. In 1988 she released her first single, "Wrath of My Madness," and the following year her debut album, All Hail the Queen, appeared. Propelled by diverse styles—including soul (soul music), reggae, and dance—and feminist themes, it earned positive reviews and attracted a wide audience. Soon after, Queen Latifah founded her own management company. Her second album, Nature of a Sista (1991), however, failed to match the sales of her previous effort, and Tommy Boy did not re-sign her. After signing with Motown Records, she released Black Reign in 1993. The album was a critical and commercial success, and the single "U.N.I.T.Y.," which decried sexism and violence against women, earned a Grammy Award.

      In 1991 Queen Latifah made her big-screen debut in Jungle Fever, and after several television appearances she was signed in 1993 to costar in the series Living Single. After the show ended in 1998, Queen Latifah returned to the big screen, playing a jazz singer in the 1998 film Living Out Loud. Her commanding screen presence brought roles in more films, including The Bone Collector (1999) and Brown Sugar (2002). In 1999 she began a two-year stint of hosting her own daytime talk show, and that year she published Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman (cowritten with Karen Hunter).

 Queen Latifah's prominence in Hollywood was cemented in 2003, when she received an Academy Award nomination (best supporting actress) for her portrayal of Matron Mama Morton in the big-screen adaptation of the stage musical Chicago (2002). The film was followed by the comedies Bringing Down the House (2003), which Queen Latifah both starred in and produced; Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004); and Beauty Shop (2005). In 2004 Queen Latifah released her first album in six years, The Dana Owens Album, and she again brought her musical background to the screen for her role as Motormouth Maybelle in the film Hairspray (2007), a remake of the stage musical. In 2008 Queen Latifah starred in The Secret Life of Bees, a drama about a white girl taken in by a family of beekeeping African American women in 1960s-era South Carolina.

 

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