Owens was given the nickname Latifah (Arabic for “delicate” or “sensitive”) as a child and later adopted the moniker Queen Latifah. In high school she was a member of the all-female rap group Ladies Fresh, and, while studying communications at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, she recorded a demo tape that caught the attention of Tommy Boy Records, which signed the 18-year-old. In 1988 she released her first single, "Wrath of My Madness," and the following year her debut album, All Hail the Queen, appeared. Propelled by diverse styles—including soul (soul music), reggae, and dance—and feminist themes, it earned positive reviews and attracted a wide audience. Soon after, Queen Latifah founded her own management company. Her second album, Nature of a Sista (1991), however, failed to match the sales of her previous effort, and Tommy Boy did not re-sign her. After signing with Motown Records, she released Black Reign in 1993. The album was a critical and commercial success, and the single "U.N.I.T.Y.," which decried sexism and violence against women, earned a Grammy Award.

In 1991 Queen Latifah made her big-screen debut in Jungle Fever, and after several television appearances she was signed in 1993 to costar in the series Living Single. After the show ended in 1998, Queen Latifah returned to the big screen, playing a jazz singer in the 1998 film Living Out Loud. Her commanding screen presence brought roles in more films, including The Bone Collector (1999) and Brown Sugar (2002). In 1999 she began a two-year stint of hosting her own daytime talk show, and that year she published Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman (cowritten with Karen Hunter).