Queen Latifah

Dana Elaine Owens better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American performer and actress. Her performance as a singer, music as well as a film and television artist has won the actress the distinction of two Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Image Awards. She also won a Grammy Award along with six additional Grammy nominations. Queen Latifah was raised in Newark, NJ. The daughter is Rita Owens, Sr. and Lancelot Owens Jr. Her father and mother divorced after Latifah turned ten. Latifah grew up in the Baptist religion and went to Catholic school at Newark New Jersey. Her stage name Latifah is a reference to delicate and kind in Arabic was bestowed by her aunt when she was eight. Latifah is 5-foot-10" tall forward on the high school team, was always a tall girl. She sang the song"Home" from The musical The Wiz in a high school performance. Latifah began her career as a beatboxer with the Ladies Fresh rap band. Latifah joined the original Flavor Unit group, made up of several MCs as well as the producer DJ Mark 45 King. Mark James aka DJ Mark the 45 King, recorded an audition recording of Queen Latifah's song Princess of the Posse. He gave the recording to Yo! MTV Raps is Freddy. Dante Ross, an employee of Tommy Boy Music who heard the song and signed Latifah in 1988, to drop her first track Wrath of My Madness.