Queen Latifah net worth in 2024 has intrigued fans around the world. The multi-talented star is known for her work in music, film, and television. Over the years, she has earned a strong reputation as an actress, singer, and producer.
Let’s explore her earnings, sources of income, and the path that has brought her to her impressive net worth.
Queen Latifah in Brief
Full Name | Dana Elaine Owens |
Date of Birth | March 18, 1970 |
Place of Birth | Newark, New Jersey, USA |
Occupation | Actress, Singer, Producer |
Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
Partners | Eboni Nichols |
Children | Rebel |
Net Worth | $70 million |
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What is Queen Latifah Net Worth in 2024?
Queen Latifah is an American rapper, singer, actress, and producer with a net worth of $70 Million as of 2024. The main source of Queen Latifah’s wealth mainly comes from her work in acting, music, and business.
She first gained fame as a rapper in the late 1980s, but her acting career brought her even more success. She starred in movies like “Chicago” and “Bringing Down the House,” and TV shows like “Living Single” and “The Equalizer.”
Besides that, she has endorsement deals with brands like CoverGirl and owns a production company. She’s also made money from real estate investments. All these areas have helped grow her wealth.
Queen Latifah’s Early Life
Dana Elaine Owens, also known as Queen Latifah, was born on March 18, 1970, in Newark, New Jersey, and grew up in East Orange. Her parents were Rita, a teacher, and Lancelot, a police officer. They divorced when Dana was 10. Raised Baptist, she went to Catholic school but graduated from Irvington High School, where her mom taught.
In high school, Latifah was tall 5’10”, and played as a power forward on the basketball team. She found her stage name “Latifah” in a book of Arabic names when she was just 8. Latifah later performed the song “Home” from the musical “The Wiz” in a school play. After graduating, she attended some classes at Borough of Manhattan Community College.
Queen Latifah’s Music career
Career beginnings
Queen Latifah started her career as a beatboxer for the group Ladies Fresh. She joined the Flavor Unit, a crew led by DJ King Gemini. DJ Gemini recorded her rap song “Princess of the Posse.” This song caught the attention of Dante Ross from Tommy Boy Music. In 1989, they released her first single, “Wrath of My Madness.” Later artists, like Ice Cube and Lil’ Kim, sampled her songs.
Hip-Hop Success
Latifah became famous by rapping about the struggles of Black women. She talked about issues like domestic violence and street harassment. In 1989, she released her first album, All Hail the Queen when she was just nineteen. Her song “Ladies First” was a big hit and was the first collaboration between two female rappers. In 1993, she released Black Reign, which included the Grammy-winning song “U.N.I.T.Y.” Latifah also made history as the first rapper to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show.
Transition to Singing
After her hip-hop album Order in the Court, Latifah focused more on singing soul and jazz music. In 2004, she released The Dana Owens Album. In 2007, she performed at the Hollywood Bowl with a full orchestra, singing songs like “California Dreaming.” Her album Trav’lin’ Light, released later that year, featured stars like Jill Scott and Stevie Wonder and was nominated for a Grammy.
Return to Hip-Hop
In 2008, Latifah announced that she was working on a new hip-hop album, All Hail the Queen II. In 2009, she released her album Persona, with the lead single “Cue the Rain.” In 2011, she sang a duet with Tony Bennett for his album Duets II. Latifah continues to influence both hip-hop and soul music today.
Queen Latifah’s Film Career
Early Career
Queen Latifah started her film career in the early ’90s with small roles in movies like “House Party 2,” “Juice,” and “Jungle Fever.” She was also on the TV show “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and played herself on “Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper.” From 1993 to 1998, she starred in the popular sitcom “Living Single,” which featured her mother, Rita, playing her on-screen mom.
She gained more fame with the film “Set It Off” in 1996 and had roles in “Living Out Loud” and “The Bone Collector” in 1999. Latifah hosted her talk show, “The Queen Latifah Show,” from 1999 to 2001, and it returned in 2013. However, the show ended in 2014 due to low ratings.
Mainstream Success
Latifah became a big star after playing Matron “Mama” Morton in the musical film “Chicago,” which won an Academy Award for Best Picture. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress but did not win. She is one of only five hip-hop artists to receive an Academy Award nomination for acting, joining stars like Will Smith and Jennifer Hudson.
In 2003, she starred in “Bringing Down the House” with Steve Martin, which did very well at the box office. Latifah has been in many other films, such as “Scary Movie 3,” “Taxi,” “Beauty Shop,” and “Hairspray.” In 2006, she appeared in the romantic comedy “Last Holiday,” which critics praised. She also voiced the character Ellie in “Ice Age: The Meltdown” that year.
In 2007, Latifah starred in the film version of the Broadway hit “Hairspray,” showcasing her singing and dancing talents. She received awards for her role in “Life Support,” where she played an HIV-positive woman. She got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006.
Latifah produced the 2007 movie “The Perfect Holiday” and acted alongside stars like Terrence Howard and Gabrielle Union. She also appeared in the crime comedy “Mad Money” and made a memorable appearance on “Saturday Night Live” in 2008. In 2009, she presented at the Academy Awards and sang at Michael Jackson’s memorial service.
From 2010 onward, Latifah continued to shine in her career. She sang “America the Beautiful” at Super Bowl XLIV and hosted various award shows. She starred in “Joyful Noise” with Dolly Parton in 2012 and received an honorary doctorate from Delaware State University in 2011. In 2013, she launched a new version of her daytime talk show.
In 2015, she earned an Emmy nomination for playing Bessie Smith in the film “Bessie.” Latifah took on an executive producer role for the TV show “Scream,” which aired in 2019. She played Ursula in “The Little Mermaid Live!” to great praise.
In 2021, she starred in the new TV series “The Equalizer,” reimagining the classic detective show. She also signed a deal with Audible, expanding her work into new areas.
Queen Latifah’s Personal Life
Queen Latifah, born in East Orange, New Jersey, has lived in places like Colts Neck, Rumson, and Beverly Hills. She has faced some difficult moments in her life. In 1992, her older brother, Lancelot Jr., died in a motorcycle accident involving a bike she bought for him. She still wore the key to that motorcycle while acting on her show “Living Single.”
In 1995, Latifah experienced a carjacking, during which her boyfriend, Sean Moon, was shot. The following year, she was arrested for having marijuana and a loaded gun. In 2002, she was arrested again for driving under the influence in Los Angeles and was given three years of probation.
Latifah’s mother, Rita Owens, passed away in 2018 from heart failure after battling it for years. For a long time, Latifah kept her personal life private. But in 2021, while accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BET Awards, she publicly thanked her partner Eboni Nichols, and their son Rebel, ending her speech with “Happy Pride!”
In a 2020 episode of “Finding Your Roots,” Latifah discovered that her family had been free Black people since 1792, when her ancestor, Juggy Owens, was freed from slavery. This was a rare finding, as slaves were usually not named in U.S. records before the Civil War.
Feud with Foxy Brown
In 1996, a feud started between Foxy Brown and Queen Latifah after Latifah’s diss track “Name Callin'” from the Set It Off movie soundtrack. Foxy Brown responded by accusing Latifah of checking her out and questioning her sexuality in radio interviews. Brown then released her diss track, “10% Dis,” where she again insulted Latifah.
In 1998, Latifah fired back with “Name Callin’ Part II,” criticizing Brown for using sex appeal to cover up her weak rap skills. Brown replied with another diss track, “Talk to Me,” where she made fun of Latifah’s talk show ratings and insulted her and another rapper, Queen Pen, with homophobic remarks.
Many in the media, including Ego Trip magazine, said Latifah won the feud with her diss track, proving she was still on top. In 2000, the two reconciled when Foxy Brown performed her song “Na Na Be Like” on The Queen Latifah Show, ending the feud.
Queen Latifah’s Endorsements
Queen Latifah is a famous star who works with many big brands. She is a spokesperson for CoverGirl, which sells makeup, Curvation, which makes women’s underwear, Pizza Hut, and Jenny Craig, a weight loss program. Latifah even created her line of makeup for women of color called the “CoverGirl Queen Collection.”
Latifah also has her perfume called “Queen” and “Queen of Hearts.” In 2018, she was named the godmother of a cruise ship called the Carnival Horizon. Besides being a singer and actress, she wrote a book called “Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman.” In this book, she shares messages about confidence and self-respect. Queen Latifah is a true role model for many people!
Queen Latifah’s Awards
Queen Latifah has achieved a lot in music, film, and culture. She was the first female rapper to get an Oscar nomination and was awarded Artist of the Year by Harvard in 2003. In 2006, she became the first hip-hop artist to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She also entered the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2011.
Latifah has sold almost 2 million albums in the U.S. In 2017, she was honored by the American Black Film Festival, and in 2018, she earned an honorary degree from Rutgers University. In 2019, Harvard gave her the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal. By 2023, her album “All Hail the Queen” was added to the Library of Congress, making it one of the first female rap recordings to be honored.
She has won many awards, including a Grammy, a Golden Globe, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two NAACP Image Awards. She has also been nominated for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy. In 2021, Queen Latifah received the BET Lifetime Achievement Award, the first rapper ever to do so. In 2023, she became the first female rapper honored at the Kennedy Center.
Queen Latifah’s Real Estate
When she got her talk show, she decided to move to California. Before she left, she put her big house in New Jersey up for sale. This house is huge! It has 7,000 square feet of space and sits on nine acres of land. The mansion has six bedrooms and eight bathrooms. There’s also a five-car garage and a heated Olympic-sized swimming pool. She wanted $2.4 million for it.
In 2015, Queen Latifah sold another home she owned in the Hollywood Hills. She listed it for $1.94 million but ended up selling it for $1.65 million.