Queen Latifah

 Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is a famous American rapper, actress, and singer. Her birthplace was Newark, New Jersey. In 1989, she signed with Tommy Boy Records and released her debut album All Hail the Queen, which featured the hit song "Ladies First". Nature of a Sista' (1991) was her second and final album with Tommy Boy Records.Latifah played Khadijah James in the Fox sitcom Living Single from 1993 to 1998. Black Reign (1993) was her third album. It was the first solo female rapper's album to be awarded a gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America. 2. The single "U.N.I.T.Y." was also released. " that was instrumental in bringing awareness to violence against women and the demonization of Black female sexuality. [3] The song reached the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, and received an Grammy Award. The actress then appeared as the main character of Set It Off (1996) and released her fourth album, Order in the Court on June 16, 1998, through Motown Records. Latifah was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Artistress for her role as Matron "Mama", Morton in Chicago (2002). In 2004, Latifah released her fifth album The Dana Owens. In 2007 and 2009 she released two additional studio albums: Trav'lin' Light and Persona. The Queen Latifah Show was a daytime talk program that was on from 1999 until 2001, and then in syndication from 2013 to 2015. She has been featured in numerous films including Taxi (2004) and Bringing Down the House (2003). [4] Latifah won the Primetime Emmy Award in Outstanding Television Movie for her role as Bessie Smith who is a blues-singing singer in the HBO film Bessie (2015). She produced the film with her co-authors, and it was praised by critics. From 2016 to 2019 she played Carlotta Brown in the musical drama series Star. She starred as Hattie McDaniel on the miniseries Hollywood in 2020. From 2021 to 2021, she's held the lead role on CBS' revival of the action drama The Equalizer.