Queen Latifah turns 45 on March 18th and there’s no doubt that her reign isn’t even close to ending. Whether you love her because of her comedic roles in movies like Bringing Down the House or in the moving musical Hairspray, there’s no doubt that Queen Latifah is a force to be reckoned with. But more importantly, she has become a role model for strong women. Here are the ways the Queen has inspired us to be independent, confident, and unapologetically ourselves.
- She wants to encourage all women.
In her book Put on Your Crown: Life-Changing Moments on the Path to Queendom, she aims to help young women build a strong sense of self-esteem. As if the title wasn’t enough of a hint that Queen Latifah believes all women are royalty, in her book she says “There's more to all of us than we realize. Life is so much bigger, grander, higher, and wider than we allow ourselves to think. We're capable of so much more than we allow ourselves to believe.” - She's all about self-love.
In 2013 she spoke to Good Housekeeping about how she learned to love herself, and in turn gave us all some solid advice about the power of thought and decision-making. She said “When I was around 18, I looked in the mirror and said, 'You're either going to love yourself or hate yourself.' And I decided to love myself. That changed a lot of things.” We love this approach to choosing to live yourself as you are, rather than waiting until you’ve achieved a certain goal, like weight loss. - She stays grounded.
Queen Latifah reminded us all that she keeps things real and stays humble, just as we all should, with this statement: “There's no way I can represent for everyone. I can't represent for all women or all big women or all black women. It's important for people not to make celebrities their source of who they should be in life. I can't take on the pressure of being perfect. Nobody is.” - She believes in giving back.
The Queen had also spoken at several events for women and girls to inspire and encourage them to do good things in the world and to believe in themselves. In addition to public speaking, Queen Latifah is an active philanthropist. She has donated time and money to several organizations, including the Lancelot H. Owens Scholarship Foundation she and her mother founded in honor of her late brother, which helps provide money and resources for students who need help attending college. - She's not all about the bottom line.
Finally, Queen Latifah helps us all keep things in perspective. While she urges women to work hard to achieve their dreams and be successful, she has also said “People say time is money, but I say that time is life.”
