“Give it to ’em Queen!” are the words that many concert goers shouted when Dana Owens, better known as Queen Latifah, used to rock the mic during her many hip hop concerts. The Grammy Award-winning rapper, songwriter, talk show host and SAG Award-winning actress has come a long way. She says she’s even ready to be a mother.
In a recent 2016 interview, the multi-talented producer said, “I’m little bit of a procrastinator. But, I had some things to deal with. I had to get a lot of partying out of my system early in life for about 40 years. You know what I’m saying. I’m good now,” she said. “I think I’m ready.”
But she’s not sure just how many kids she’s ready for.
“I can’t say what God has for me, but you will see,” the actress and talk host said. “You’ll see when I’m lugging the baby on the hip that there is actually a youngin’ around here.”
Now, the Queen is “giving it to them” in another way: branching out as she brought Bessie Smith to life in HBO’s biopic on the legendary blues-jazz singer. The experience has presented her a list of firsts.
“I’ve never done that before. It was a little odd but it was also a quiet, relaxing thing,” the New Jersey-native recalled of the scene. “Sometimes she was so alone, and it was a moment for Bessie to acknowledge her vulnerability, which I can completely relate to … I don’t find [this nude scene] any more uncomfortable than kissing a girl in ‘Set It Off’ and sticking to the script.”
“You have to take your mind off of yourself and honor that character. Respect Cleo, respect Bessie.”
In addition to the mental fitness it takes to pull off scenes like that, Queen makes sure her body can keep up as well.
One of her secret weapons is her trainer, Hollywood trainer Jeanette Jenkins, who makes sure that the Queen keeps her royal court in shape from the inside out. Jeanette even got Queen Latifah to start drinking more water. “Drinking water is huge,” admits Queen Latifah. “It makes up 60% of your body weight. So when you are drinking at least half your body weight in ounces you are going to lose. I have my meals automated, ensuring that I eat the right thing when I get hungry.”
Jeanette says practicing yoga is also amazing for maintaining and building on your progress. When you hit any plateau in your fitness goals, it’s important to explore new foods and get variety.
Jeanette shared her list of foods that will boost your weight loss, help you burn fat, and look like royalty, too:
From healthy eating and exercise to teach the world about autoimmune disease through her mother’s condition, scleroderma, Queen Latifah really is the Queen of healthy living and doesn’t plan on giving up the crown anytime soon.
Scleroderma is an auto-immune disease which affects many organs, including the skin and internal organs. It affects more women than men (about 4 to 1) and occurs in about 300,000 people in the USA. Its peak incidence is in the late 40s and early 50s, but people as young as 3 and as senior as 80 can develop scleroderma. A cure has not been found to date but treatments are encouraging with better outcomes from new therapies compared to even 10 years ago. Research is leading to better understanding of genetic factors and possible causes, but there is a long way to go.
We wish her mother a healthy recovery and many more years of life.
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