Queen Latifah: musician; television and film actress; a label president; an author and entrepreneur. Blessed with style and substance, Queen Latifah has blossomed into a one-woman entertainment conglomerate. Heralded by the press and the industry as a force to be reckoned with, Latifah has quite simply done it all and shows no sign of slowing down.
Latifah has had amazing success in Hollywood in recent years, and became the first hip hop artist to be crowned with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 4, 2006. She received rave reviews, an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, a Golden Globe nomination and a SAG Award nomination for her portrayal as Mama Morton in Miramax’s Chicago. Following Chicago, Latifah starred in Disney’s box office hit Bringing Down the House, on which she also acted as executive producer.
In the TV movie, Life Support, Latifah was both the star and executive producer, in the true-life drama, in which she plays a mother who overcomes an addiction to crack and becomes a positive role model and an AIDS activist in the black community. Latifah received rave reviews as well as an Emmy nomination, a Golden Globe win and a SAG Award win. She starred in Neil Meron and Craig Zadan’s Hairspray playing Motormouth Maybelle and was also seen in the film Mad Money playing opposite Diane Keaton and Katie Holmes.
In Fox Searchlight’s The Secret Life of Bees, Latifah starred alongside Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys and Dakota Fannning. Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, The Secret Life of Bees won the Hollywood Film Award at the Hollywood Film Festival and a People’s Choice Award for Favorite Independent Movie in 2009. Queen Latifah starred in the romantic comedy Just Wright, on which she produced as well. She also starred alongside Vince Vaughn and Kevin James in The Dilemma directed by Ron Howard. Recently, she starred in Warner Brothers Joyful Noise alongside Dolly Parton which she produced as well. Currently, Latifah is filming Lifetime’s adaptation of Steel Magnolias, on which she is also an executive producer. She will take on the role of M’Lynn starring alongside Alfre Woodward, Phylicia Rashad, and Jill Scott.
Latifah was seen in Wayne Wang’s The Last Holiday, and starred in MGM’s Beauty Shop (a spin-off of the hit Barbershop), which she also produced. She also appeared in Marc Forster’s Stranger Than Fiction, playing opposite Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman and was the voice of the Wooly Mammoth, Ellie, in Ice Age 2. She will be the voice of Ellie again in Ice Age: Continental Drift which is set to be released on July 13, 2012.