Queen Latifah
Acting • Born 1970-03-18
Biography
Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album All Hail the Queen on November 28, 1989, featuring the hit single "Ladies First". Nature of a Sista' (1991) was her second and final album with Tommy Boy Records. Latifah starred as Khadijah James on the Fox sitcom Living Single from 1993 to 1998. Her third album, Black Reign (1993), became the first album by a solo female rapper to receive a RIAA certification, and spawned the single "U.N.I.T.Y.", which was influential in raising awareness of violence against women and the objectification of Black female sexuality. The record won a Grammy Award and peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. She then starred in the lead role of Set It Off (1996) and released her fourth album, Order in the Court, on June 16, 1998, with Motown Records. Latifah garnered acclaim with her role of Matron "Mama" Morton in the musical film Chicago (2002), receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Latifah released her fifth album The Dana Owens Album in 2004. In 2007 and 2009, she released two more studio albums – Trav'lin' Light and Persona. She created the daytime talk show The Queen Latifah Show, which ran from 1999 to 2001, and again from 2013 to 2015, in syndication. She has appeared in a number of films, such as Bringing Down the House (2003), Taxi (2004), Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2005), Beauty Shop (2005), Last Holiday (2006), Hairspray (2007), Joyful Noise (2012), 22 Jump Street (2014) and Girls Trip (2017) and provided voice work in the Ice Age film series. Latifah received critical acclaim for her portrayal of blues singer Bessie Smith in the HBO film Bessie (2015), which she co-produced, winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie. From 2016 to 2019, she starred as Carlotta Brown in the musical drama series Star. In 2020, she portrayed Hattie McDaniel in the miniseries Hollywood. Queen Latifah has been referred to as the "Queen of Rap" by several media articles, as well as "rap's first feminist". Latifah became the first hip hop artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (2006). Latifah's work in music, film and television has earned her a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, and an Academy Award nomination. Description above from the Wikipedia article Queen Latifah, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
161 credits
Ice Age: The Meltdown
Movie • 2006
Ellie (voice)
Stranger Than Fiction
Movie • 2006
Penny Escher
Sphere
Movie • 1998
Alice 'Teeny' Fletcher
Chicago
Movie • 2002
Matron Mama Morton
Girls Trip 2
Movie
Sasha Franklin
Bringing Down the House
Movie • 2003
Charlene Morton
Hairspray
Movie • 2007
Motormouth Maybelle
Scary Movie 3
Movie • 2003
Aunt Shaneequa / The Oracle
Arctic Tale
Movie • 2007
Narrator
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz
Movie • 2005
Aunt Em
Taxi
Movie • 2004
Isabelle 'Belle' Williams
Barbershop 2: Back in Business
Movie • 2004
Gina
Hoodlum
Movie • 1997
Sulie
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Movie • 2009
Ellie (voice)
Mad Money
Movie • 2008
Nina Brewster
Bringing Out the Dead
Movie • 1999
Dispatcher Love (voice)
What Happens in Vegas
Movie • 2008
Dr. Twitchell
The Bone Collector
Movie • 1999
Thelma
The Secret Life of Bees
Movie • 2008
August Boatwright
Who's the Man?
Movie • 1993
Queen Latifah
Valentine's Day
Movie • 2010
Paula Thomas
Set It Off
Movie • 1996
Cleo
Beauty Shop
Movie • 2005
Gina Norris
My Life
Movie • 1993
Theresa
The Dilemma
Movie • 2011
Dana
Just Wright
Movie • 2010
Leslie Wright
2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Movie • 2021
Self
House Party 2
Movie • 1991
Zora
Joyful Noise
Movie • 2012
Vi Rose Hill
Juice
Movie • 1992
Ruffhouse M.C.
Brown Sugar
Movie • 2002
Francine
Last Holiday
Movie • 2006
Georgia Byrd
You're Watching Video Music Box
Movie • 2021
Self (archive footage)
Living Out Loud
Movie • 1998
Liz Bailey
Life Support
Movie • 2007
Ana
Ice Age: Continental Drift
Movie • 2012
Ellie (voice)
Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas
Movie • 2011
Ellie (voice)
One Love: The Bob Marley All-Star tribute
Movie • 1999
Self - Perfomer
Zac Efron's Pool Party
Movie • 2009
Self
Steel Magnolias
Movie • 2012
M'Lynn
House of Bodies
Movie • 2013
Nicole
2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Movie • 2023
Self
22 Jump Street
Movie • 2014
Mrs. Dickson (uncredited)
Slammin' Rap Video Magazine Vol. 1
Movie • 1990
Self
Bessie
Movie • 2015
Bessie Smith
Yo! The Story of ‘Yo! MTV Raps’
Movie • 2012
Self
A GRAMMY Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop
Movie • 2023
Self
The Wiz Live!
Movie • 2015
The Wiz
Miracles from Heaven
Movie • 2016
Angela Bradford
Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade
Movie • 2016
Ellie (voice)
The Perfect Holiday
Movie • 2007
Mrs. Christmas
Girls Trip
Movie • 2017
Sasha Franklin
Ice Age: Collision Course
Movie • 2016
Ellie (voice)
Jungle Fever
Movie • 1991
Lashawn
The Country Bears
Movie • 2002
Cha-Cha
Michael Jackson Memorial
Movie • 2009
Self
Garrett's Gift
Movie • 2008
Living with the Dead
Movie • 2002
Midge Harmon
Flint
Movie • 2017
Iza Banks
And the Winner Isn't
Movie • 2017
Self
Teach
Movie • 2013
Self
The Cookout
Movie • 2004
Security Guard
Tony Bennett: Duets II - The Great Performances
Movie • 2012
Self
The Making of the Wiz Live!
Movie • 2015
Self
The Trap
Movie • 2019
Dr. Obayuwana
Mama Africa
Movie • 2002
Host
King of the South
Movie
The Little Mermaid Live!
Movie • 2019
Ursula
Platinum Comedy Series: Roasting Shaquille O'Neal
Movie • 2002
Self - Host
We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial
Movie • 2009
Self
Hustle
Movie • 2022
Teresa Sugerman
End of the Road
Movie • 2022
Brenda Freeman
The Tiger Rising
Movie • 2022
Willie May
The Earth Day Special
Movie • 1990
Self
Ice Age: Boiling Point
Movie • 2027
Ellie (voice)
Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1980s, 1990s and 2000s
Movie • 2009
Self (archive)
I Hate The Way I Look
Movie • 1994
Self
Sesame Street: What's the Name of That Song?
Movie • 2004
Self
Through the Years of Hip Hop Volume 1 Graffiti Extras
Movie • 2002
Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery
Movie • 2025
Self
VH1 Hip Hop Honors: All Hail the Queens
Movie • 2016
Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration
Movie • 1993
Self - Special Guest
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
TV • 2003
Self
The Daily Show
TV • 1996
Self
The Critic
TV • 1994
Queen Latifah (voice)
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
TV • 1990
Marissa Redman
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
TV • 1988
Self - Guest
Today
TV • 1952
Self
The Tyra Banks Show
TV • 2005
Spin City
TV • 1996
Robin Jones
Hogan Knows Best
TV • 2005
The View
TV • 1997
Self
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
TV • 1992
CBS News Sunday Morning
TV • 1979
Self
American Idol
TV • 2002
Self
The Early Show
TV • 1999
Self
Finding Your Roots
TV • 2012
Self
Living Single
TV • 1993
Khadijah James
30 Rock
TV • 2006
Regina Bookman
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
TV • 2015
Self
MADtv
TV • 1995
Self - Hostess
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
TV • 1993
Self - Guest
Roc
TV • 1991
Intimate Portrait
TV • 1993
Self (archive footage)
VH1 Rock Honors
TV • 2006
The Queen Latifah Show
TV • 2000
I Love the '80s Strikes Back
TV • 2003
The Grammys
TV • 1959
Self - Host
The Oscars
TV • 1953
Self
Rock Concert
TV • 1973
Self
Saturday Night Live
TV • 1975
Self - Host
Saturday Night Live
TV • 1975
Self - Host & Musical Guest
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
TV • 2014
Self - Guest
Lip Sync Battle
TV • 2015
Self
Maya and the Three
TV • 2021
Gran Bruja (voice)
Untold Stories of Hip Hop
TV • 2019
Self
Saturday Night Live
TV • 1975
Self - Cameo (uncredited)
Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop
TV • 2023
MTV Movie & TV Awards
TV • 1992
Self - Presenter
Star
TV • 2016
Carlotta Brown
MTV Video Music Awards
TV • 1984
Self
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
TV • 2014
Self
Late Night with Seth Meyers
TV • 2014
Self
Empire
TV • 2015
Carlotta Brown
Carpool Karaoke: The Series
TV • 2017
Self
America's Next Top Model
TV • 2003
Self - Guest
Yo! MTV Raps
TV • 1988
Self
The Kelly Clarkson Show
TV • 2019
Self
The View
TV • 1997
Self - Guest
Mama Flora's Family
TV • 1998
Diana
Sherri
TV • 2022
Self - Guest
Ellen
TV • 1994
Queen Latifah (uncredited)
Hot Ones
TV • 2015
Self
The Reichen Show
TV • 2005
Self - Guest
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
TV • 1996
Self - Guest
Good Day Live
TV • 2001
Self
Eve
TV • 2003
Simone
The Talk
TV • 2010
Martha & Snoop's Potluck Dinner Party
TV • 2016
The Fairly OddParents
TV • 2001
Pam Dromeda (voice)
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
TV • 2009
Self - Guest
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
TV • 2015
Self - Guest
The Jenny Jones Show
TV • 1991
Entertainment Tonight
TV • 1981
Self
The Equalizer
TV • 2021
Robyn McCall
When the Streetlights Go On
TV • 2020
Detective Grasso
Hot in Cleveland
TV • 2010
Aunt Esther Jean Johnson
Hollywood
TV • 2020
Hattie McDaniel
Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America
TV • 2019
Self
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
TV • 2014
Self
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
TV • 1992
Queen Latifah
The Oscars
TV • 1953
Self - Performer
Entourage
TV • 2004
Dana Elaine Owens
The Jennifer Hudson Show
TV • 2022
Self - Guest
Payback
TV • 2022
Self - Funeral Attendee (archive footage)
People's Choice Awards
TV • 1975
Self - Presenter
People's Choice Awards
TV • 1975
Self - Host
Golden Globe Awards
TV • 1944
Self - Presenter
Living with the Dead
TV • 2002
Midge Harmon
The Grammys
TV • 1959
Self
Hollywood Squares
TV • 1998
Self - Panelist