Queen Latifah Biography

- Height: 5’ 10” (1.78m).

- Nickname: Hip-Hop’s First Lady.

- Always wore her trademark queen’s crown to public appearances in the early days of her career.

- Arrested for assaulting a photographer and for carrying marijuana and a loaded firearm. She later pleaded guilty and was fined for the incident. [February 1996]

- First female rapper to be nominated for an Academy Award.

- Named one of the Most Fascinating Women of 1998 by Ladies Home Journal.

- Ranked at number 72 on VH1’s 100 greatest Women of Rock N Roll in 1999.

- Was meant to star in ‘Monster’s Ball’ (2001) with Robert De Niro and Sean Penn. The producers were unable to begin on time and the entire film had to be delayed and recast. Latifah’s role went to Halle Berry, De Niro’s to Billy Bob Thornton and Penn’s to Heath Ledger.

- Voted number 24 in VH1’s 50 greatest Hip Hop Artists (April 2003).

- Won a Kid’s Choice Award for the Wannabe Award (the celebrity kids most want to be like) in April 2005.

- Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, 6 January 2006, the first hip-hop artist to achieve this accolade.

- Announced in March 2006 that she was in the early stages of adopting a child and would possibly have a baby at the start of 2007.