38: Queen Latifah – Powerful Women of 2013
While it's been a while since we've heard Queen Latifah spitting rhymes, her influence on hip-hop and her current impact in music as a whole with her various singing roles in films like 'Hairspray' and 'Joyful Noise' prove that she fits right in on this list.
With some help from Fab 5 Freddy, Latifah was signed to Tommy Boy Records and released her debut LP, 'All Hail the Queen,' in 1989. She released three more rap records in the '90s till she transitioned over to R&B and soul music in the early 2000s.
She then released a jazz and soul album, 'The Dana Owens Album' in 2004. Latifah sang on a couple more albums but returned to rap with 2009's 'Persona.'
As previously mentioned, we now see Latifah on the silver screen more than the stage. She's acted in various films including 'The Bone Collector, 'Bringing Down the House' and 'The Perfect Holiday,' where she was the lead character. She is also one of the celebrity spokeswomen of Cover Girl. And she recently signed on to do her own daytime talk show that's set to premiere later this year.