How Did Queen Latifah Influence African American Women

Many African American women have positively influenced our history, however there is one who has become quite the multitalented threat throughout the years. Dana Elaine Owens also known as “Queen Latifah” was born on March 18, 1970. Although Queen Latifah started off as just a female rap artist, she has evolved into becoming a singer, songwriter, actress, model, comedian, and talk show host as well. Her freshman year of high school, she began to sing and rap on the download in private areas around the school. By her junior year, Latifah had formed a rap group called Ladies Fresh, with two of her friends. “Latifah made her mark in hip-hop by rapping about issues of black women.” (Bloom, 10) Her songs covered topics including domestic violence harassment on the streets, and relationship problems. Almost immediately the group was making appearances wherever they could. Latifah's mother had a lot to do with her daughters’ upcoming success
She made her big screen debut in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever (1991), which was an interracial romance drama. (Allen, 45) The following year, she appeared in the crime thriller Juice with Tupac Shakur. From 1993 to 1998 she landed a leading role in the comedic sitcom Living Single. If that was enough, In 1996 she co started with Jada Pinkett Smith and Vivica Fox in Set It Off, and later with Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie in The Bone Collector. One of her most acclaimed roles came from her 2002 hit musical, Chicago where she portrayed a prison matron Mama Morton. This role really gave her a chance to show off both her singing talents and acting skills. Some of her other strong roles include Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray (2007) with John Travolta, Mad Money (2008) with Katie Holmes, and her moving performance in The Secret Life of Bees (2008). This past year she received an Emmy nomination for her role of Bessie Smith in the HBO film Bessie (2015). (Bracey,