At 50, Queen Latifah Remains an Icon of Body Positive Style

There is no one quite like Queen Latifah. The hip-hop legend has been in a class by herself since she arrived on the scene in the late eighties. Born Dana Owens, the multitalented star, who turned 50 this week, renamed herself after an Arabic word meaning “delicate, sensitive, and kind.” Throughout her career, she has embodied those qualities while encouraging women to uplift themselves with creativity. Her music has long been celebrated for its feminist underpinnings—U.N.I.T.Y. outlines her demand for universal respect clearly—but her influence doesn’t end at her discography. In the world of fashion, she’s helped to open doors for women above sample size, setting a chic example that many have followed.

One of only a handful of curvaceous celebrities during the 90s and 00s, Latifah was body positive before the term existed. In an era where many felt pressured to alter their appearance in order to achieve fame, she ever apologized for who she was. Success came despite Hollywood’s unwritten rules about who gets to take the lead onscreen. As a romantic lead, character actress, and host, she was always a strong presence. And she was also always immaculately dressed, whether in colorful Kofi hats and Afrocentric custom designs or donning glamorous runway pieces at a red carpet premiere.

Each phase of her careeer was marked with a sartorial reinvention. Her move to television starring as magazine editor Khadijah James on Living Single meant power suits and daring all-leather outfits. An Oscar-nominated turn as Matron “Mama” Morton in Chicago called for gilded gowns worthy of awards season. Girls Trip's whirlwind press tour saw the star changing multiple times per day, but each look was in understated neutrals. Never short on options, she branched into the design space to give her fans a taste of the expressive wardrobe she enjoyed.

The current climate of size inclusivity and muses of all shapes wouldn’t exist without stars like Latifah. Long before Lizzo or Ashley Graham, the Queen of Royal Badness helped to start a conversation about body image that continues to this day. A look back through her fashion hits reveals a fashion icon who still has plenty of style to spare.