Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, singer, and actress.

Latifah starred as Khadijah James on the Fox sitcom Living Single from 1993 to 1998 and landed a leading role in the action film Set It Off (1996).

Her portrayal of Matron "Mama" Morton in the musical film Chicago (2002) received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

She is the daughter of Rita Lamae (née Bray; d. 2018),[6] a teacher at Irvington High School (Dana's alma mater), and Lancelot Amos Owens, a police officer.

DJ King Gemini made a demo recording of Queen Latifah's rap song Princess of the Posse, which he gave to Fab 5 Freddy, the host of Yo!

The song got the attention of Tommy Boy Music employee Dante Ross, who signed Latifah and in 1989 released her first single, "Wrath of My Madness".

[25] After Order in the Court, Latifah shifted primarily to singing soul music and jazz standards, which she had used sparingly in her previous hip-hop-oriented records.

On July 11, 2007, Latifah sang at the famed Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles as the headlining act in a live jazz concert.

Latifah performed new arrangements of standards including "California Dreaming", first made popular by 1960s icons the Mamas & the Papas.

Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Joe Sample, George Duke, Christian McBride, and Stevie Wonder made guest appearances.

[27] In 2009, Latifah, along with the NJPAC Jubilation Choir,[28] recorded the title track on the album Oh, Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration, covering the song that the Edwin Hawkins Singers made popular in 1969.

From 1993 to 1998, Latifah had a starring role on Living Single, the FOX sitcom, which gained high ratings among black audiences; she also wrote and performed its theme song.

Although Latifah had previously received some critical acclaim, she gained mainstream success after being cast as Matron "Mama" Morton in Chicago, a musical film that won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

The summer of 2007 brought Latifah triple success in the big-screen version of the Broadway smash hit Hairspray, in which she acted, sang, and danced.

It starred, among others, John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Allison Janney, James Marsden, Christopher Walken, and Zac Efron.

In addition to producing the film, Latifah starred alongside Terrence Howard, Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Union, Charles Q. Murphy, Jill Marie Jones, and Faizon Love.

[34] In 2008, Latifah appeared in the crime comedy Mad Money opposite Academy Award–winner Diane Keaton as well as Katie Holmes and Ted Danson.

She appeared on Saturday Night Live on October 4, 2008, as moderator Gwen Ifill in a comedic sketch depicting the vice-presidential debate between then-Senator Joe Biden and then-Governor Sarah Palin[35] and played in The Secret Life of Bees.

Latifah sang "America the Beautiful" at Super Bowl XLIV hosted in Miami, Florida, on February 7, 2010, with Carrie Underwood.

[52] In 1990, The New York Times' Michelle Wallace described her art as "politically sophisticated", which "seems worlds apart from the adolescent, buffoonish sex orientation of most rap.

[54] On the topic, author Tricia Rose wrote that Black female rappers likely did not identify with feminism during that time because it was perceived as a movement that focused primarily on white women's issues.

[90] Queen Latifah has been cited as an influence on R&B, soul, and hip-hop artists, such as Eve,[91] Da Brat,[92] Lil' Kim,[93] Fugees,[94] Jill Scott,[95] Lauryn Hill,[96] Missy Elliott,[97] Remy Ma,[98] Ivy Queen,[99] Foxy Brown,[100] Ms. Dynamite,[101] Naughty by Nature,[102] Rapsody,[103] Megan Thee Stallion,[104] as well as actors Michael K. Williams,[105] Keke Palmer,[106] Vin Diesel,[107] and author Jason Reynolds.

[109] In 2020, Vogue editor Janelle Okwodu considered her a fashion icon that "helped to start a conversation about body image that continues to this day", crediting her among the first artists that pioneered the "climate of size inclusivity and muses of all shapes".

[110] Queen Latifah has demonstrated several forms of activism over her lifetime, challenging Eurocentric ideals and representing the black, female body.

Her entire name was self-chosen, and while 'Latifah' came from an Arabic book, 'Queen' originated from her desire to create a strong, black identity, which was fueled by her mother, Rita Owens, who gave her the foundation to develop into a self-proclaimed Queen.

[112] This is what Queen Latifah aimed to avoid when creating her stage name, with the intention of opposing the Eurocentric construction of the term mammy.

[111] Throughout her early career, Latifah challenged the Eurocentric mythology of the inferiority of black, female bodies, by creating a marketable figure that was respectable within the Hip Hop industry in the mid-1990s.

By placing "Queen" in her stage name, Latifah set herself in a position to counter sexist ideals in the hip-hop and rap music industry, which was primarily dominated by men during this time.

Her first role that she took on was in the movie Jungle Fever, which was released in 1991, where she performed among several significant black actors, such as Samuel L. Jackson and Halle Berry.

[135][136] Studio albums Latifah, Jill Scott and Erykah Badu joined to create and own the rights to the Sugar Water Festival Tour, LLC.