American singer-songwriter and actress Queen Latifah, was BOTD in 1970. Born Dana Owens in Newark, New Jersey, she was nicknamed Latifah (Arabic for “delicate” or “sensitive”) as a child, later adopting the name Queen Latifah. She joined a female rap group in high school, recording a demo tape while in college that led to her first record signing. She released her debut album, All Hail the Queen in 1989. Drawing from soul, reggae and dance music sounds and with pro-feminist lyrics, it was a critical and commercial success, and credited with redefining the male-dominated and misogynist world of rap. After signing with Motown Records, she released Black Reign in 1993, winning a Grammy for her single U.N.I.T.Y. which critiqued sexism and violence against women. She continued releasing albums throughout the 1990s while branching into acting, making her screen debut in Spike Lee’s 1991 film Jungle Fever. She dazzled Hollywood in Rob Marshall‘s 2002 film adaptation of the musical Chicago, earning an Oscar nomination for her queer-coded role as Matron Mama Morton. Her recent film and TV work includes Beauty Shop, the 2007 film remake of John Waters‘ comedy Hairspray, the historical drama The Secret Life of Bees, an all-Black remake of Steel Magnolias, the ensemble comedy Girls Trip and voice-acting work in the Ice Age franchise. She has also portrayed jazz singer Bessie Smith in a 2015 TV biopic, and Hattie McDaniel in Ryan Murphy‘s drama series Hollywood. She has also hosted her own daytime talk show and published her memoir Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman in 1999. A prominent supporter of feminist and racial equality causes, she has vocally criticised Eurocentric beauty standards and promoted positive representation of Black women and plus-sized bodies. In 2023, she became the first female rapper to receive a Kennedy Center Honour. Latifah spent much of her career refusing to address speculation around her sexuality and personal life. In 2021, she publicly acknowledged her relationship with Eboni Nichols and son Rebel during an awards acceptance speech.