Actress-Singer-Hip Hop Icon, Queen Latifah celebrates her 42nd birthday today.
Dana Owens aka Queen Latifah burst onto the music scene with her first album, All Hail the Queen and has been reigning ever since.
With hit singles like, Wrath of My Madness, Ladies First, Come into My House, Just Another Day and U.N.I.T.Y, she has established herself as one of the most successful female MC’s in hip-hop.
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By the mid 90’s Queen Latifah successfully transitioned from rap star to television and movie actress starring in a number of films including Set It Off, House Party 2, Jungle Fever and the hugely successful TV sitcom, Living Single.
But it was her portrayal of Matron “Mama” Morton in the 2002 film adaptation of the musical Chicago that Latifah achieved mainstream success. The role earned her an Academy Award-nomination and placed her within an elite class of hip-hop stars to ever receive an Oscar nomination.
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Since that time, Latifah has had a string of box office hits including Bringing Down the House, Hairspray, Beauty Shop, The Last Holiday and The Secret Life of Bees.
In 2004, Latifah returned to her musical roots and released an album of pop and jazz standards called The Dana Owens Album. She followed up in 2007 with Trav’lin Light and received a Grammy-nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.
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That same year, she starred and produced her own film, The Perfect Holiday and received a Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and Emmy nomination for her portrayal of an HIV –positive woman in the HBO film, Life Support.
Latifah is also a celebrity spokesperson for Pizza Hut and CoverGirl and has hosted several award shows including The BET and People’s Choice Awards.
Queen Latifah most recently starred in the film, Joyful Noise with country music legend Dolly Parton and is producing a new singing competition show entitled, The Star Next Door set to air summer of 2012.
Source: Wikipedia
