Happy 51st birthday, Queen Latifah: The singer and actress' career in photos

Queen Latifah (third from left) played magazine editor Khadijah James on Fox's "Living Single" from 1993 – 1998. The series also featured (L-R) Max (Erika Alexander), Regine (Kim Fields Freeman), and Tripp Williams ( Mel Jackson).

Queen Latifah, left, stars alongside Kimberly Elise, Vivica Fox and Jada Pinkett in the 1996 film "Set It Off."

Queen Latifah gestures next to a poster of herself at a New York hotel May 12, 1998.

Queen Latifah and Erykah Badu backstage at the TNT Bob Marley tribute on December 4, 1999.

Queen Latifah hosted her own syndicated talk show, "The Queen Latifah Show," from 1999–2001.

Queen Latifah played Matron "Mama" Morton in 2002's "Chicago."

Queen Latifah arrives at the premiere screening of the film "Chicago" at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in Beverly Hills, Calif., Dec. 10, 2002.

Queen Latifah arrives at the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Annual Awards Gala in New York on Jan. 14, 2003. Latifah was a presenter during the show.

Queen Latifah shows her muscles as she arrives for the MTV Movie Awards in Los Angeles on May 31, 2003.

Presenter Queen Latifah arrives for the 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 25, 2004, in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Queen Latifah in a scene from the 2004 film "The Cookout."

Detective Andrew Washburn (played by Jimmy Fallon) and taxi driver Belle (Queen Latifah) in a scene from the 2004 motion picture "Taxi.

Queen Latifah poses at the Hit Factory recording studio in New York, Sept. 24, 2004.

Queen Latifah touches her star during a ceremony honoring her with the first Hollywood Walk of Fame star of the year, Jan. 4, 2006, in Los Angeles.

Emma Thompson and Queen Latifah in a scene from the 2006 film "Stranger Than Fiction."

Queen Latifah stars in a scene from the film "Hairspray."

Queen Latifah arrives at the 20th Annual Kids' Choice Awards in Los Angeles on March 31, 2007.

Queen Latifah waves to the crowd before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 2 of an American League Division Series baseball game between the Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees on Oct. 5, 2007, in Cleveland.

Queen Latifah arrives at the premiere of "Mad Money" in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2008.

Queen Latifah presents Quincy Jones with the Humanitarian Award at the BET awards on June 24, 2008 in Los Angeles.

Queen Latifah sings "America the Beautiful" before Super Bowl XLIV in Miami on February 7, 2010

Queen Latifah and Keke Palmer star in the 2012 film "Joyful Noise."

Queen Latifah speaks during a concert of Memphis Soul music as part of the "In Performance at the White House" series, in the East Room of the White House in Washington D.C. on April 9, 2013.

Queen Latifah attends the 40th annual People's Choice Awards at Nokia Theatre on January 8, 2014 in Los Angeles.

(Left to right) Macklemore, Mary Lambert, Madonna, Ryan Lewis and Queen Latifah perform during the 56th Grammy Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014 in Los Angeles.

Queen Latifah as Bessie Smith in a scene from HBO's 2015 film "Bessie."

Queen Latifah, winner of outstanding performance by a female actor in a television movie or miniseries, for "Bessie," poses in the press room at the 22nd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on January 30, 2016 in Los Angeles.

Queen Latifah arrives at the premiere of Columbia Pictures' "Miracles From Heaven" at ArcLight Hollywood on March 9, 2016 in Hollywood, Calif.

Fans line the railing above as Queen Latifah arrives for "VH1's Hip Hop Honors: All Hail The Queens" on July 11, 2016 at Lincoln Center in New York.

Queen Latifah Visits "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" at Rockefeller Center on January 10, 2017 in New York City.

Queen Latifah at the 2017 BET Awards at Microsoft Square on June 25, 2017 in Los Angeles.

Regina Hall (far left), Tiffany Haddish, Jada Pinkett Smith and Queen Latifah play women traveling to New Orleans for wild times in 2017's "Girls Trip.

Queen Latifah performs onstage during the 2018 Essence Festival at Louisiana Superdome on July 7, 2018 in New Orleans.

Naomi Campbell and Queen Latifah onstage during Black Girls Rock! at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on August 26, 2018 in Newark, N.J.

Queen Latifah, a close friend of "Star" creator Lee Daniels, played Carlotta Renee Brown on the Fox series from 2016-2019. Carlotta is a salon owner and devout churchgoer who had a brush with fame as a singer.

Queen Latifah performs at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards at Prudential Center on August 26, 2019 in Newark, N.J.

Queen Latifah attends the Women's Singles quarterfinal match between Serena Williams of the United States and Qiang Wang of China at the 2019 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 3, 2019 in the Queens borough of New York City.

Harvard University awarded the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal to Queen Latifah for her contributions to Black history and culture on Oct. 22, 2019, in Cambridge, Mass.

On Nov. 5, 2019, Queen Latifah made waves as Ursula the sea witch on ABC's "The Little Mermaid Live!" musical version of the 1989 Disney film.

Queen Latifah speaks onstage during ESSENCE + New Voices Entrepreneur Summit and Target Holiday Market at West End Production Park on December 14, 2019 in Atlanta.

Queen Latifah performs during the NBA All-Star 3-Point contest in Chicago on Feb. 15, 2020.

Queen Latifah portrayed "Gone With the Wind" actress Hattie McDaniel in a scene from the 2020 Netflix series "Hollywood.

Queen Latifah stars in the CBS reboot of "The Equalizer." The new series reimagines its vigilante protagonist Robert McCall as "Robyn" McCall, a CIA operative who left the "company," as she calls it, after being disillusioned with her work.