Latifah Quotes & Sayings

There were musicians that influenced me, but they weren't all women. Teena Marie was a big influence because she wrote and produced her own music, which let me know that women could write and produce their own music, which was an empowering moment for me. — Queen Latifah

Even if you don't have anything, even if you've got a quarter in your pocket, to share with someone else who has nothing really helps. — Queen Latifah

I feel anger and I feel understanding. It's a difficult position to be in. — Queen Latifah

instinct leads me to another flow — Queen Latifah

I promised my mom that if, after a year of putting 150 percent into my career it didn't work out, I would go back to school. I never did go back. — Queen Latifah

Queen Latifah used to help me out with my kids, because while we were all out on tour - Public Enemy, Naughty By Nature, Queen Latifah, Heavy D - when Public Enemy went onstage, I didn't have anybody solid to watch my kids. So, Latifah would help me out. — Flavor Flav

While we [people] keep putting a face on HIV and AIDS, I think what we forget is that there are human beings, just people with emotions and feelings, women who want to be loved, men who want to be loved, who want to feel something. — Queen Latifah

I try to only commit myself to things that I think I can accomplish and commit myself to 100 percent. I try not to bite off more than I can chew. — Queen Latifah

I clean up really well. I can get dolled up. — Queen Latifah

I know people who are twice as creative as I am, twice as smart, but they didn't do anything because they feared going into a room and opening their mouths. My parents told me to truly accomplish things in my life, there would be times I would have to stand alone. It may be scary, but that's what it requires. — Queen Latifah

I feel like I've set the example for loving your body no matter what size it is, but I also can set the example for being healthy as well. — Queen Latifah

I used to do school plays. I never really took any acting classes. I'm just a natural ham, I guess. — Queen Latifah

I have to be realistic about what I can and can't do. So whatever I do has to really be worth it. I like to master the things I do. — Queen Latifah

Having Black hair is unique in that Black women change up styles a lot. You can walk down one street block in New York City and see 10 different hairstyles that Black women are wearing: straight curls, short cuts, braids - we really run the gamut. — Queen Latifah

If I ran into a 19-year-old version of myself, I'd just tell her to live, full out. I might also tell her to go ahead and have a few babies and not worry about the timing of it. — Queen Latifah

No one ever got ahead by going through the motions. You have to constantly be improving yourself. Make your life the masterpiece you want it to be. — Queen Latifah

New Jersey is a great place to live. And we have given some of the best talent to the world, from Jack Nicholson, John Travolta, to Jerry Lewis to Bon Jovi to Frank Sinatra. — Queen Latifah

When you're rapping, you do have to perform to a certain degree, but not every rapper is necessarily a gifted actor. — Queen Latifah

A confident woman is a sexy woman, in my opinion. And I think guys find that to be the same way. — Queen Latifah

I have a no-die clause in every movie. The black people can't be dying all the time. — Queen Latifah

You almost have to step outside yourself and look at you as if you were someone else you really care about and really want to protect. Would you let someone take advantage of that person? Would you let someone use that person you really care about? Or would you speak up for them? If it was someone else you care about, you'd say something. I know you would. Okay, now put yourself back in that body. That person is you. Stand up and tell 'em, Enough! — Queen Latifah

I want every day to be life for the living, not just traipsing through it existing. I'm just interested in life and the world and exploring. — Queen Latifah

Beauty is not just a white girl. It's so many different flavors and shades. — Queen Latifah

People say I'm going to be the next Oprah. But I say no, because Oprah is still Oprah. I'll be the next me. I feel like there's always a lane for me as long as I'm true to myself. — Queen Latifah

If my brother and I wanted money in our pockets, we had to get jobs - my first was at 15, at Burger King. We had to come up with ways to create an income. — Queen Latifah

I have great family and friends that do not treat me like Queen Latifah. We've all grown with this thing, they have sacrificed part of there anonymity; they've had to deal with rumors and things in the paper and they've had to take this ride along with me and they've taken it and we've had a good time. — Queen Latifah

The reality is, I like imperfection. You take away from the world when you're not yourself. Whatever is unique and special about you was designed by God. And when you try to be someone else, we don't get you. Who knows what you would have contributed to the world had you just been yourself, if you had just celebrated who you are and just walked boldly? — Queen Latifah

I feel like every woman is a queen, and we should be treated as such, and we should, you know, sort of request that sort of treatment from others. — Queen Latifah

I love music. I've just been putting studios together, here and at my house in New Jersey and so I can always make music and express my ideas and work with people to fine tune them to where they need to be. — Queen Latifah

My house borders horse farms, and I can look out my window and see the horses and the new colts. It's really peaceful. — Queen Latifah

I remember praying for peace all the time as a kid. — Queen Latifah

There are a lot of people who helped make Queen Latifah who she is today. I don't forget, but a lot of people do and get big heads. My mom will make me walk the dogs or take out the trash when I go home. I'm not allowed to get a big head; I've still got to do the simple things in life. — Queen Latifah

When you have a family as big as mine, there are many things that affect my family members, in many different ways. It could be high blood pressure, it could be cholesterol, it could be obesity, it could be sleep deprivation or sleep apnea. An illness is an illness, especially if it affects younger kids. Illnesses affect your family and they impact you because you want to do the best you can to help your family member become more healthy, just as my family members want me to be healthy. — Queen Latifah

We ignore our feelings a lot, I realize. Many of us have to ... until they really bite us in the butt. — Queen Latifah

When there's something that impacts a family member or friend, that is difficult for them, you want to do what you can to help. Sometimes you can't do anything and it makes you feel like you're helpless, so those emotions cross a big barometer, but they're a big, broad stroke when it comes to someone who you care about. If you have compassion in your heart, you just care. — Queen Latifah

I'm probably proudest of being able to lift a lot of us out of the 'hood. That's the biggest thing, that I've been able to employ a lot of people and give them opportunities. — Queen Latifah

When I'm doing something I love, I can lose sleep. I can go and go and go and go. My work ethic is pretty intense. But when it comes to doing something that I don't love every day, I'm not very good at it. That's called work, and I don't like work that much. — Queen Latifah

My legs are nice, my lips are shapely, and my breasts are pretty. They popped up when I was 11 and they weren't small then. I was teased, but now those kids wish they had what I have! — Queen Latifah

My mom will make me walk the dogs or take out the trash when I go home. — Queen Latifah

It was a very vulnerable time going from being insecure about my body and who I am to becoming comfortable with me. I had to tune out what the hell everybody else had to say about who I was. When I was able to do that, I felt free. — Queen Latifah

Those curveballs are always coming-eventually, you learn to hit some of them. — Queen Latifah

If you try to follow everyone else's mold, you'll probably fail at some point because God created us uniquely for a reason. — Queen Latifah

To step into acting was not that difficult a transition to make. What was difficult was the work and the practice that went into becoming good at it, because I hadn't had any training. — Queen Latifah

I've never been the straight rapper that is going to stand in a cipher and battle all day. I started off battle rapping, but to me, making songs became more important than freestyles ... I've met many rappers who can freestyle but can't make a record. — Queen Latifah

Be bold, be brave enough to be your true self. — Queen Latifah

If we focus on our health, including our inner health, our self-esteem, and how we look at ourselves and our confidence level, we'll tend to be healthier people anyway, we'll tend to make better choices for our lives, for our bodies, we'll always be trying to learn more, and get better as time goes on. — Queen Latifah

I know a lot of people who really aren't beautiful because their attitudes are very nasty ... Whether I make the 50 most beautiful list or not, I'm always going to feel like I'm number one most beautiful to myself ... I get that from my mom, and my daddy and my friends who raised me. — Queen Latifah

I don't have to take a trip around the world or be on a yacht in the Mediterranean to have happiness. I can find it in the little things, like looking out into my backyard and seeing deer in the fields. — Queen Latifah

Dolly Parton made me chicken and dumplings. That Tennessee woman can burn some pots! And we know that I am not necessarily shy to a fork! — Queen Latifah

In the last 48 hours King Abdullah from Saudi Arabia passed away. I have a moral dilemma. The king passed away three or four days ago. Is it too soon to hit on Queen Latifah? — David Letterman

The objectification of females is not a good thing! Not every rapper does this, but when the lyrics focus solely on the strip club, 'poppin' bottles' and how many girls they can 'tap,' it distorts what kids are learning. I think if there was more of a female presence in hip hop we could break up the monotony. It's all about balance. — Queen Latifah

I feel very positive about Newark's future, but I know we need a lot of help. I think that starts with the education of our kids and making the streets safer. — Queen Latifah

I enjoy going to work and having a good time. It's tough when you got to work with people who just are in a bad mood all the damn time. — Queen Latifah

There was always music in our home. My mom and my dad loved music. I remember when we were kids we would have these great parties at the house with congas and bongos and African drums, and it was amazing. It wasn't until years later that I found out that they were actually Black Panther meetings. — Queen Latifah

I think I'd be a great mom, honestly. I don't think I'll have any problem giving them all the love in the world. Discipline will be the hard part. — Queen Latifah

There are different flavours of sexiness. — Queen Latifah

I lost relatives to AIDS. A couple of my closest cousins, favorite cousins. I lost friends to AIDS, high school friends who never even made it to their 21st birthdays in the '80s. When it's that close to you, you can't - you know, you can't really deny it, and you can't run from it. — Queen Latifah

I'm not living large; I just want to live comfortably. I wanna have financial stability that is unshakable. — Queen Latifah

I wish every woman would love herself and embrace what she was given naturally. — Queen Latifah

You can huff and puff. But blow me down? I doubt it kid, or you get your ass whupped. — Queen Latifah

I never pictured myself as just a rapper; I always wanted to act and do whatever else I could do. I always felt like I could do a lot of different things. — Queen Latifah

Queen Latifah has been a huge part of my career. She has been a huge, huge part of my career since the very beginning. — Keke Palmer

I often go to bed in my birthday suit. But I like teddies and cute little undies that match. I like a sexy bra and panty set, or little shorts. — Queen Latifah

I decided early on that I was going to put on my crown and rule my world by acting right and treating myself like a queen. — Queen Latifah

I had to grow to love my body. I did not have a good self-image at first. Finally it occurred to me, I'm either going to love me or hate me. And I chose to love myself. Then everything kind of sprung from there. Things that I thought weren't attractive became sexy. Confidence makes you sexy. — Queen Latifah

To me, hip hop will never be right until female rappers have a stronger voice in it. — Queen Latifah

To me, doing a gay pride show is one of the most fun things. My first show that paid more than $10,000 was in a gay club on New Year's Eve in San Francisco. — Queen Latifah

I came from a crew, and to me, all the guys I rapped with were better than me, so I was surprised when I was the breakout one. It was definitely a cool thing. — Queen Latifah

Yeah, I'm from Jersey; it's almost like I was automatically born a Nets fan. — Queen Latifah

You can't let fear paralyze you. The worse that can happen is you fail, but guess what: You get up and try again. Feel that pain, get over it, get up, dust yourself off and keep it moving. — Queen Latifah

Look at people for an example, but then make sure to do things your way. Surround yourself with positive people. — Queen Latifah

I'm the daughter of a sister whose the mother of a brother who's the brother of another. — Queen Latifah

I'm a sucker for a man who cries. It just gets to me. — Queen Latifah

I write pretty often. I have a home studio. Music is what I do for fun. I never get tired of it, so to take a break from [TV and movies], I would go make some music. — Queen Latifah

Lets be clear, Dolly Parton is a rapper. Somewhere before all the country, I don't know what happens up there in the mountains when you're growing up, but she has been spitting rhymes for a very long time - 50 years I'd say. — Queen Latifah

Once you realize there is a Higher Power, you know you're not alone, that you have a purpose on the planet. You control your destiny instead of letting the day lead you where it may. You seize it, take it and lead it. — Queen Latifah

Racism is ignorant. And it's stupid. And it's old. And it's played out. So beat it already with that, you know what I mean? 'Let's all get along' - I'm so tired of that damn sentence, but it's true. — Queen Latifah

Most people don't have so much talent that they can become a success all their own. We all need people to help us and lift us up. — Queen Latifah

I am a strong woman with or without this other person, with or without this job, and with or without these tight pants. — Queen Latifah

I was not born a size 2. I'm not skinny, period. I'm not willing to sleep with the director or step on somebody else's neck to get the job. — Queen Latifah

A lot of people are crazy, cruel and negative. They got a little too much time on their hands to discuss everybody else. I have a limited amount of energy to blow in a day. I'd rather read something that I like or watch a program I enjoy or ride my damn motorcycle or throw back a couple of shots of tequila with my friends. — Queen Latifah

You have to allow your mind to create and then if you want to censor something and bring it down or point it in a different direction, then you can do it. — Queen Latifah

I don't want to be a supermodel; I want to be a role model. — Queen Latifah

I enjoy just being me. I don't need to be Queen Latifah, the brand, 24 hours a day. — Queen Latifah

Every woman is a queen, and we all have different things to offer. — Queen Latifah

I would say I'm voluptuous. Statuesque. Definitely curvaceous. — Queen Latifah

Living for today will bring about dying for today. You can't just think 'I'm going to die anyway', because that's what's stopping us from moving forward. — Queen Latifah

I got a few marriage proposals in my 20s. I just wasn't ready. I just knew if I committed, I would've wound up doing something wrong, messing it up. I still felt like I had some living to do. — Queen Latifah

When I'm wearing too-high heels and swaying my hips, I do that Sharon Stone kind of thing - she has the sexiest walk, a New York cool thing that throws you back. — Queen Latifah

You have to stand for what you believe in and sometimes you have to stand alone. — Queen Latifah

I have always felt strongly about empowering women. I'm living proof that, with confidence and by believing in yourself, you can accomplish any goal. — Queen Latifah

People have often asked me, do I want to be the next Oprah - there is no such thing. Oprah is Oprah, and she's still being Oprah if anybody hasn't noticed ... what I bring to TV is myself ... I really think there's space in daytime TV for a whole bunch of fun, some amazing music, and some heart. — Queen Latifah

My mom was my main influence growing up, and Phylicia Rashad reminded me a lot of my mother, just the way she handled certain things, she was ... not soft-spoken but smooth-spoken. Just very calm, cool, collected about things. — Queen Latifah

I'm proud of everything I do, but I think I'm the most happy about becoming a rapper. It was my entrance into everything. That helped me get into acting. — Queen Latifah

Sometimes I pray when I really feel like I need God to help me with something, and sometimes we just have conversations. We just kick it. — Queen Latifah

So often, you don't get that opportunity. You only go over everything once and, the next thing you know, you're on set. — Queen Latifah

Mary J. Blige is the Queen Latifah character. Her voice in this movie [Rock of ages] is, she just gives it this incredible warmth, and she's just this person who blows out of the screen. She's just incredible. — Adam Shankman

I have my dad's shape. No booty. — Queen Latifah

I'd say, if you want to be an artist, start with your art; start with making great music and it will, hopefully, eventually cut through all of the nonsense that is out there. — Queen Latifah

Fear can be good when you're walking past an alley at night or when you need to check the locks on your doors before you go to bed, but it's not good when you have a goal and you're fearful of obstacles. We often get trapped by our fears, but anyone who has had success has failed before. — Queen Latifah