Queen Latifah, rapper, record producer, actress. Born Dana Owens, on March 18, 1970, in Newark, New Jersey. The second child of Lance and Rita Owens, she is best known for her social politics as well as her gift for rhyme. When she was eight years old, a Muslim cousin gave her the nickname Latifah, which means delicate and sensitive in Arabic. Latifah began singing in the choir of Shiloh Baptist Church in Bloomfield, New Jersey, and had her first public singing triumph when she sang a version of "Home" as one of the two Dorothys in a production of The Wizard of Oz at St. Anne's parochial school.