Dana Elaine Owens, known as Queen Latifah, was born on March 18, 1970 in Newark, New Jersey to a schoolteacher mother and a police officer father. Her nickname Latifah means nice in Arabic and was given to her by her cousin.

At a young age, the young American-Baptist girl, developed interests in the artistic community. She participated in a musical and played basketball. As a teenager she started a hip-hop movement with the group Ladies Fresh.

In 1988, Queen Latifah composed the single Princess of the Posse which caught the attention of Tommy Boy Records. The following year when Queen Latifah was only 19 years old, she released her first album entitled All Hail the Queen. Her second album Nature Of a Sista, came out in 1991. The same year, the singer got a small part in the movie Jungle Fever by Spike Lee. Her career as an actress had been launched.

At the beginning of the nineties, Queen Latifah had some problems with her record label. She released her third album Black Reign in 1993 under the giant label, Motown. This propelled Queen Latifah to the top. The singer won a Grammy award for the single U.N.I.T.Y.

Between 1993 and 1998, Queen Latifah played Khadijah James in the television series Living Single. In 1995, she collaborated on the soundtrack New Jersey Drive. In July 1998, her album Order in a Court showed a return to rhythmic tracks.

In 2002, Queen Latifah got a prestigious part opposite Richard Gere and Catherine Zeta-Jones in the Oscar-winning musical Chicago. The same year the artist released a greatest hits album entitled She’s a Queen : A Collection of Hits.

The singer-actress showed that she had not forgotten her real name. In September 2004, she launched an album entitled, The Dana Owens Album. It was followed by a greatest hits with her other name… The Best of Queen Latifah, which was released in March 2005. In 2006, Queen Latifah received a star on Hollywood’s walk of fame. She proved that she was not just a rapper, but also an actress.

In 2007, Queen Latifah changed record companies once again and signed with Verve Records. The album Trav’lin’ Light had a mix of jazz and R&B and was released in September 2007 under the new label. Many great artists collaborated on this album, including Stevie Wonder.

Queen Latifah has many things going at this time. She is singing, acting and now also manages the production company, Flavor Unit Entertainment.