Queen Latifah

She was nicknamed ‘Latifah’, an Arabic word for ‘delicate and sensitive’ by her cousin.

She owns houses in Colts Neck, Rumson, New Jersey and Beverly Hills, California.

Queen Latifah was born on 18th March 1970 in Newark, New Jersey, to Lance and Rita Owens. Her father was in police services. Her parents got divorced when she was eight. She was raised by her mother in Baptist faith. Her mother played a catalyst role in her music career.

She had an older brother, Lance Owens, who also worked in police service. He died in a motorbike accident in 1992. This motorbike was presented to him by Latifah.

She attended Catholic School in Newark, New Jersey. During her high school days she was part of girls’ basketball team.

She began rapping during high school. She formed her first rap group ‘Ladies Fresh’ when she was in junior year. She met local DJ Mark James. He formed a group named ‘Flavor Unit’ of which Latifah was the original member.

James made a demo record of Latifah's rap ‘Princess of the Posse’. This recording caught attention of ‘Tommy Boy Music’ who immediately signed Latifah.

Queen invested her money in a small video store on the ground floor of her apartment. She elevated this business to turn it into a record production company. In 1991, when she was just 21 years old, she rolled out ‘Flavor Unit Records and Management Company’ in New Jersey in partnership with her old friend Shakim Compere. She became the CEO of this company.

In the same year, she also tried her hands at acting. She debuted in inter-racial romance drama ‘Jungle Fever’.

In 1992, she appeared in crime thriller ‘Juice’. Soon she grabbed a leading role in a sitcom ‘Living Single’. This comedy show was a ground breaking one.

By late 1993, her record company signed 17 rap groups. One of these groups, ‘Naughty by nature’, was very successful. In the same year, this company released, album ‘Black Reign’. This album was a big hit.

Next year she portrayed a lesbian bank robber in the movie ‘Set it Off’. She costarred with Jada Smith and Vivica Fox.

In 1993, shortly after her brother’s death, she released the album ‘Black Reign’. This album was jazz / reggae influenced. The single ‘U.N.I.T.Y’ was a huge hit. The song was about her story of reigning over tough times in personal life and about black people reigning over their oppressors. This song established her as one the best female rappers in the world and also fetched her, her first Grammy award.

Latifah's most acclaimed film role to date came in the 2002 hit musical ‘Chicago’, starring Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renee Zellweger. This movie received Academy Award in ‘Best Picture’ category. Her portrayal of prison matron Mama Morton gave her a chance to show off both her singing talents and acting skills. For her work in the film, Latifah earned an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress. Though she lost the award to her co-star Catherine Zeta-Jones, her role was critically acclaimed.