MTV Raps. The actress released a statement stating her mother passed away Wednesday after a longtime battle with heart disease. Latifah's work in music, film and television has earned her a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, an Academy Award nomination and sales of over two million records. She created the daytime talk show The Queen Latifah Show, which ran from late 2013 to early 2015 on CBS. [49], Raised in East Orange, New Jersey, Latifah has been a resident of Colts Neck, New Jersey; Rumson, New Jersey; and Beverly Hills, California.[50]. She starred with Dolly Parton in Joyful Noise (2012). [80], Queen Latifah was the first hip-hop artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[81]. For example, actress, singer, and songwriter Queen Latifah plays an active role in caring for her mother, Rita Owens, who was diagnosed with heart failure more than 10 years ago. Latifah spoke at Michael Jackson's memorial service in Los Angeles. In her 1999 autobiography, Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman, Latifah discussed how her brother's death had led to a bout of depression and drug abuse, from which she later recovered. On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Queen Latifah among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.[29]. She has appeared in a number of films, such as Bringing Down the House (2003), Taxi (2004), Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2005), Beauty Shop (2005), Last Holiday (2006), Hairspray (2007), Joyful Noise (2012), 22 Jump Street (2014) and Girls Trip (2017) and provided voice work in the Ice Age film series. He taught me how to fight. Although Latifah had previously received some critical acclaim, she gained mainstream success after being cast as Matron "Mama" Morton in Chicago, a musical film that won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Owens learned of her condition when she passed out at work one day. [20] In 1993, she released the album Black Reign, which was certified Gold in the United States[21] and produced the Grammy Award-winning song "U.N.I.T.Y." [9] Latifah herself received the nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role, but lost to co-star Catherine Zeta-Jones. She also dedicated Black Reign to him. Rita Anne Owens, of Bedford, Texas, passed away on Saturday, October 24th, 2020. Queen Latifah paid tribute to her late mother, Rita Owens, on Friday. Rita Owens was born as Rita Lamay Bray. Freddy helped Latifah sign with Tommy Boy Records, which released Latifah's first album All Hail the Queen in 1989, when she was nineteen. The Johnson Family: Paula, Porshia, Jemari and Brayson would like to send our deepest sympanthy in the passing of your mother Mrs. Rita Owens. Be sure to check out her new series,’The Equalizer’ Sundays (8 p.m. He put me in taekwondo classes. Queen Latifah is a contralto, and she has the ability to rap and sing. purchased for him. The record won a Grammy Award and peaked at No. NJ.com reports Owens, a longtime New Jersey resident and teacher, was 69. [13][14] She performed the number "Home" from the musical The Wiz in a grammar school play. She married Vincent Deitz on December 31, 1953 and he preceded her on May 21, 1991. She played the role of Thelma in the 1999 movie The Bone Collector, alongside Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. Her biggest musical influences are EPMD, KRS-One, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, and Run–D.M.C. In 2004, she released the soul/jazz standards The Dana Owens Album. Latifah, Jill Scott and Erykah Badu joined together to create and own the rights to the Sugar Water Festival Tour, LLC. She smoothed out my rough edges.”, As for her mom’s choice of extracurricular activities, “she put me in dance, even though I was the biggest girl in the ballet class,” she recalls. [57] In response, Brown made allegations of Latifah "checking her out" at musical events and had even gone further to question Latifah's sexuality in various public radio interviews. Queen Latifah became an influence to R&B, soul, and hip-hop artists, such as Eve,[69] Da Brat,[70] Lil' Kim,[71] Fugees,[72] Jill Scott,[73] Lauryn Hill,[74] Missy Elliott,[75] Remy Ma,[76] Ivy Queen,[77] Foxy Brown,[78] Ms. Dynamite,[79] and Naughty by Nature. Rita Owens was married to Lancelot Owens Sr., who was a police officer. She was quoted stating that the album was done already and it would be called All Hail the Queen II. "It is with a heavy heart that I share the news my mother, Rita Owens, passed away today," Latifah said. Queen Latifah, who tragically lost her brother Lancelot Jr. in a motorcycle accident in 1992, credits her strong foundation with her success today. Latifah performed in the Super Bowl XXXII halftime show, making her the first rapper to do so. Rita Owens, Actress: The Cookout. In addition to producing the film, Latifah starred alongside Terrence Howard, Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Union, Charles Q. Murphy, Jill Marie Jones, and Faizon Love. Queen Latifah lost her mother, Rita Owens, to an autoimmune disease called scleroderma in 2018. [4][5][6] Owens attended Essex Catholic Girls' High School in Irvington, but graduated from Irvington High School. ET) on CBS. [9] Film critic Richard Roeper stated that "this is the Queen Latifah performance I've been waiting for ever since she broke into movies". Also in 2007, she portrayed an HIV-positive woman in the film Life Support, a role for which she garnered her first Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and an Emmy[31] nomination. [41], Latifah played the sea witch Ursula in The Little Mermaid Live!. [58][59], By late spring of 1998, Latifah responded to Brown through another diss record titled, "Name Callin' Part II. [19] Dana Elaine Owens was born in Newark, New Jersey, on March 18, 1970, and lived primarily in East Orange, New Jersey. [37] In 2015, Latifah received a Best Actress Emmy nomination for her lead role as Bessie Smith in Bessie, an HBO film which received a total of 12 Emmy nominations. 3. Everything my brother could do, I was included in. Rita was a mother and homemaker before becoming a secretary for Semi Flight. [65][66] She has been dubbed as the "Queen of Jazz-Rap". In addition, Matthews, Shakim Compere and Yaneley Arty will also be credited as executive producers for the series under Flavor Unit Entertainment. Lela Mae (Street) Deitz, 83, passed away at 1:30 pm on March 22, 2021 at her residence. Dana Elaine Owens was born in Newark, New Jersey, on March 18, 1970, and lived primarily in East Orange, New Jersey. [16], She began beat boxing for the hip-hop group Ladies Fresh and was an original member of the Flavor Unit, which, at that time, was a crew of MCs grouped around producer DJ King Gemini, who made a demo recording of Queen Latifah's rap Princess of the Posse. [44], CBS has announced a new active TV series, The Equalizer, a reboot the 1980s detective series The Equalizer starring Latifah in the lead role (renamed as Robyn for her version).[45]. Latifah garnered acclaim with her role of Matron "Mama" Morton in the musical film Chicago (2002), receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. [28] In January 2012, while appearing on 106 & Park with Dolly Parton, to promote Joyful Noise, Latifah stated that she had been working on a new album. Nature of a Sista' (1991) was her second and final album with Tommy Boy Records. Opening up on the PEOPLE Every Day podcast, Queen Latifah, born Dana Owens, shares how her parents — beloved school teacher Rita Owens, and police tactical officer Lancelot Owens, Sr. — raised her and her brother, Lancelot Jr., with equal love and opportunities. [30] Also in 2006, Latifah voiced Ellie, a friendly mammoth, in the animated film, Ice Age: The Meltdown (her first voice appearance in an animated film), and appeared in the drama Stranger Than Fiction. Her parents divorced when Latifah was ten. [61] Hip-hop magazine ego trip stated that Latifah won the feud with her diss record "Name Callin' Part II" and added that she showed that "the lady's still first", in reference to Latifah's 1990 single, "Ladies First". I was very fortunate to have both sides of the coin,” the star, 50, says during her interview for this week’s PEOPLE cover story, celebrating the lives and legacies of Black trailblazers. She has been described as a "feminist" rapper. Her mother Rita played her mother on-screen. Queen Latifah biography, birth date, birth place and pictures Moreover, she has guest starred in two episodes during the second season (1991–1992) of the NBC hit The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and had a guest role as herself on Hangin' with Mr. Cooper in 1993. For her work, Queen Latifah received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, on January 4, 2006, located at 6915 Hollywood Blvd. [39][40] On June 24, 2019, it was confirmed that the third season is scheduled to premiere over three nights on VH1, starting from July 8, 2019. As for how she carves out space for her personal life now, despite achieving mega fame, she says it’s simple. [56], Disagreements between Foxy Brown and Queen Latifah began in mid-1996, where media reports indicated that Brown was a prime target in Latifah's diss record "Name Callin'," which was featured in the movie soundtrack Set It Off. [22], After Order in the Court, Latifah shifted primarily to singing soul music and jazz standards, which she had used sparingly in her previous hip-hop-oriented records. Her third album, Black Reign (1993), spawned the single "U.N.I.T.Y. The third season titled Scream: Resurrection premiered on July 8, 2019. Although the production itself was not well received, critics widely praised Latifah's performance,[42][43] with The Hollywood Reporter calling her performance "the best moment of the evening". Latifah is a celebrity spokesperson for CoverGirl cosmetics, Curvation ladies underwear, Pizza Hut, and Jenny Craig. It starred, among others, John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Allison Janney, James Marsden, Christopher Walken, and Zac Efron. [55], On March 21, 2018, her mother, actress Rita Owens, died due to heart failure, an issue she had been battling since 2004. [23] It was nominated for a Grammy in the "Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album" category. “Anyone that has ever met her knows what … [2] Latifah received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006. She was born on October 6th, 1943 in Pedro, Ohio to Charles and Anne Hall. View the profiles of people named Rita K. Owens. [18] She is considered a contralto, having the ability to both rap and sing.[18]. [60][62] Foxy Brown retaliated via a response-diss record titled "Talk to Me", in which Brown made fun of the ratings of Latifah's television talk show and went on to make various homophobic remarks to both Latifah and then-newcomer Queen Pen. Apart from singing, Queen Latifah has written a book on confidence and self-respect called Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman. Latifah's music usually contains hip-hop, jazz and gospel and has the elements of R&B, soul, and dance. [24], In 2009, Latifah, along with the NJPAC Jubilation Choir,[25] recorded the title track on the album Oh, Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration, covering the song that the Edwin Hawkins Singers made popular in 1969.[26]. She was preceded in death by her parents and her sister Dona McGilberry of Elk City. Latifah’s mother, Rita Owens, died on Wednesday after struggling with a heart condition for more than a decade, she announced in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE. “I have people who really will go through the fire with me and I’ll go through the fire with them and we have.”. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/188207169/rita-lamae-owens The others are Will Smith (Best Actor, Ali, 2001, and The Pursuit of Happyness, 2006), Jennifer Hudson (Best Supporting Actress, "Dreamgirls", 2007), Jamie Foxx, (Best Actor, Ray, and Best Supporting Actor Collateral, both in 2004, also winning the first) and Mary J. Blige, (Best Supporting Actress, Mudbound.). Join Facebook to connect with Rita K. Owens and others you may know. “I didn’t realize it at the time,” says Queen Latifah, “but they were also planning the future for us as African-Americans. [48] Latifah has also launched a perfume line called "Queen" and "Queen of Hearts". Latifah was raised in the Baptist faith and attended Catho… [9] A 2006 interview revealed that Latifah still wears the key to the motorcycle around her neck,[9] visible throughout her performance in her sitcom Living Single. She became the first female hip-hop recording artist to get nominated for an Oscar. [64], In her music career, Queen Latifah has sold nearly 2 million records worldwide. ", which was influential in raising awareness of women's rights and the perspective of women in communities worldwide. Latifah hosted the 2010 BET Awards on June 27, 2010. "[60][61] In the record, Latifah disses Brown about her heavy reliance on sex-appeal, in which she implies that Brown has to rely on skimpy outfits to hide her "half-assed flow". She was 69. [15] After high school, Queen Latifah attended classes at Borough of Manhattan Community College. Retrieved October 6, 2016. Queen Latifah and her mother Rita Owens attend Lifetime Network's 'Steel Magnolias' premiere event in New York, Oct. 3, 2012. The 48-year-old singer shared a new Instagram post that comes exactly six months after her mom's death. [17] Latifah has a two-octave vocal range. Latifah sang America the Beautiful at Super Bowl XLIV hosted in Miami, Florida, on February 7, 2010, with Carrie Underwood. She was an actress, known for The Cookout (2004), Living Single (1993) and The Cookout 2 … She played Rita James, mother to Khadijah James, Latifah's character on the '90s sitcom "Living Single." Lela was a member of Our Lady of Hope Cath Rita L. Owens Beloved mother, daughter and sister, retired art teacher Rita L. Owens of Wayne, N.J., made her transition on March 21, 2018. [9] Latifah is one of five hip-hop/R&B artists to receive an Academy Award nomination in an acting category. The summer of 2007 brought Latifah triple success in the big-screen version of the Broadway smash hit Hairspray, in which she acted, sang, and danced. “Most importantly,” she adds, “they love me and know me.”, “I’m not dependent on the world telling me who I am,” says the actress. The film rated highly with critics. Rita "Mimi" Owens was proudest of her family. She also had her own talk show, The Queen Latifah Show, from 1999 to 2001 and revamped in 2013. Rita loved spending time with her family-especially her grandkids. Whitepages people search is the most trusted directory. [32] In 2008, Latifah appeared in the crime comedy Mad Money opposite Academy Award–winner Diane Keaton as well as Katie Holmes and Ted Danson. In early 2006, Latifah appeared in a romantic comedy/drama entitled Last Holiday. In front of a crowd of more than 12,400, she was backed by a 10-piece live orchestra and three backup vocalists, which was billed as the Queen Latifah Orchestra. Anything queenly about me is really from her. In 2008, Latifah was asked if she would make another hip-hop album. “My father really made me tough in certain ways. Latifah's older brother, Lancelot Jr., was killed in 1992 in an accident involving a motorcycle that Latifah had 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1998, co-produced by Ro Smith, now CEO of Def Ro Inc., she released her fourth hip-hop album Order in the Court, which was released by Motown Records. From 1993 to 1998, Latifah had a starring role on Living Single, the FOX sitcom, which gained high ratings among black audiences; she also wrote and performed its theme music. [67] Latifah was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006 and the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2011. 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