Born Dana Elaine Owens, Queen Latifah is a woman of many talents.  As a rapper, actress and singer she has won many an award including a Golden Globe, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Grammy, not to mention her Oscar and Emmy nominations.

The daughter of a police officer and a school teacher Latifah was born and raised in New Jersey. The name Latifah was given to her by her cousin when she was eight years old, it means delicate. Her older brother became a cop and being part of a policing family had an influence on her philosophy. Sadly he passed away in an accident on the motorcycle Latifah bought for him, she still wears the motorcycle key around her neck.

Wrath of My Madness was her debut single, it was released when she was 18 years old and our queen never looked back. She has gone on to cement herself as not only a rapper but an accomplished singer, her albums The Dana Owens Album and Trav’lin’ Light show her wonderful vocal range and include duets with the likes of Stevie Wonder and Christian McBride.

The American television sitcom Living Single was Latifah’s first acting role, it aired for five seasons from August 1993 until January 1998 and it would seem it lead to her catching the acting bug.  She went on to not only have her own talk show but to also act in movies such as Juice and Jungle Fever.

However, it was her role as Matron “Mama” Morton in the screen version of Chicago that got her the recognition her acting deserved.  It was for this role that she received her Oscar nod, losing out to co-star Catherine Zeta-Jones.  Latifah has gone on to star in a host of movies with a very broad appeal.  She can currently be seen at your local cinema in Valentine’s Day.  I love her as the voice of Ellie in the Ice Age films.

This is a lady who is ready to take on just about anything and to do so with style, never compromising herself.  In 2003 she has breast reduction bringing her from an F to an DD, on the subject she says

I didn’t quite want them to be this small… I was pretty big. Now I’m like a DD. I wanted to be a triple. They took one D too many! So that was hard to deal with. … I missed my old look.

There are people who love (plastic surgery) and want to cut and chop anything. I’m like, ‘Y’all are crazy!

Why would she want to do any more, she’s gorgeous!  The title of her autobiography, which was published in 1999 says it all, it is entitled:  Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman. There have been rumblings of her putting the company of ladies first. It’s a rumour that has dogged her since 2007 when gossipers that Queen Latifah was about to come out of the closet and announce her engagement to her personal trainer Jeanette Jenkins (with Lafifah, right). She shrugged it off, denying the rumour but it persisits.

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