Queen Latifah Age, Height, Partner, Net Worth & Biography

Queen Latifah is an American rapper, singer and actress best known as a pioneering female MC with the anthem “U.N.I.T.Y.” and as Matron “Mama” Morton in Chicago, a role that earned her an Academy Award nomination. Born on March 18, 1970, in Newark, New Jersey, Latifah, 56, went from being one of the first women to succeed in hip-hop to a versatile film and television star, hosting her own talk show and starring in Living Single, Girls Trip and The Equalizer.

Quick Facts

Who Is Queen Latifah?

Queen Latifah is a rapper, singer and actress whose name is a tribute to her heritage: Latifah is Arabic for “delicate” and “sensitive,” a name she took as a teenager, and Queen was added to reflect her royal bearing. As a rapper, she was one of the first women to achieve success in hip-hop, releasing her debut album All Hail the Queen (1989) at the age of 19, with songs such as “Ladies First,” and her hit single “U.N.I.T.Y.” (1993), which won her a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance and which became an anthem against the disrespect of women in hip-hop.

Beyond music, Latifah has shown a wide range as an actress. She played Matron “Mama” Morton, a corrupt prison matron, in Chicago (2002), a performance that earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and she played Motormouth Maybelle, a record store owner, in Hairspray (2007). She starred in Living Single (1993-1998), in which she played Khadijah James, a magazine editor, in Last Holiday (2006), in which she played Georgia Byrd, a woman who learns she is dying and decides to live life to the fullest, in Girls Trip (2017), in Bessie (2015), in which she played Bessie Smith, a role that earned her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, and in The Equalizer (2021-2025), in which she played Robyn McCall, a former CIA operative. Like Ice Cube, Latifah is a rapper who became a successful film and television star.

Early Life & Background

Dana Elaine Owens was born in Newark, New Jersey, the daughter of Rita, a teacher, and Lancelot Owens, a police officer. She grew up in Newark and in East Orange, New Jersey, where she attended Irvington High School. She began rapping as a teenager, performing in a group called Ladies Fresh, and she was discovered by the DJ Mark the 45 King, who produced her first single, “Wrath of My Madness” (1988). She signed to Tommy Boy Records and released her debut album, All Hail the Queen, in 1989.

She made her acting debut on television, playing in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1991), and she appeared in the film Jungle Fever (1991), in which she played a waitress, and in House Party 2 (1991). She went on to work in Living Single, in Set It Off (1996), in which she played Cleopatra “Cleo” Sims, a bank robber, and in Chicago, which brought her to wide attention as a film actress. She hosted The Queen Latifah Show, a daytime talk show, from 1999 to 2001 and again from 2013 to 2015.

Career

Latifah’s career in music includes the albums All Hail the Queen, Nature of a Sista’ (1991), Black Reign (1993), Order in the Court (1998), The Dana Owens Album (2004), Trav’lin’ Light (2007), and Persona (2009). She won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for “U.N.I.T.Y.” in 1995, and she was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2021. She is a Kennedy Center Honors recipient, having been honoured in 2023 for her contributions to American culture.

Her career in film and television includes Jungle Fever, House Party 2, Living Single, Set It Off, Chicago, Bringing Down the House (2003), Taxi (2004), Beauty Shop (2005), Last Holiday, Hairspray, The Secret Life of Bees (2008), Valentine’s Day (2010), Bessie, Girls Trip, The Star (2017), The Equalizer, and End of the Road (2022). She has been in a relationship with Eboni Nichols, a choreographer, since 2013, and they have a son together, Rebel, born in 2019. She is known for her work as a rapper, as an actress, as a talk show host, and for a career that has lasted for more than thirty-five years.

Facts About Queen Latifah

• She won a Grammy Award for “U.N.I.T.Y.” (1993) and was nominated for an Academy Award for Chicago (2002).
• She played Khadijah James in Living Single (1993-1998) and Robyn McCall in The Equalizer (2021-2025).
• She played Bessie Smith in Bessie (2015), earning a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.
• She was honoured with the Kennedy Center Honors in 2023.
• She has been in a relationship with Eboni Nichols since 2013, and they have a son together.

Frequently Asked Questions

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