Queen Latifah to be honoured as Entertainment Icon

Award-winning actress, singer and television producer Queen Latifah is named to receive the prestigious ‘Entertainment Icon’ award at the 2017 American Black Film Festival (ABFF).

Latifah will get the royal treatment at the ‘ABFF Honours’ ceremony to be held on Friday, Feb.22 in Los Angeles, California.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the ABFF honour is an annual awards gala which is a flagship event in the festival.
The ceremony pays tribute to individuals that have made distinguished contributions to American culture through the world of film and television as well as those who champion diversity and inclusion in Hollywood.
According to the organizers, the black film fiesta, which will be hosted by actress Regina Hall, will also honour Terrence Howard and Gary Gray with the Excellence in the Arts Award.
Veteran actor and director Denzel Washington is listed for Hollywood Legacy Award, while actress Issa Rae is named for the Rising Star Award.
Latifah, a multi-dimensional entertainer is the only one listed for the ‘ Entertainment Icon Honour”.
Born Dana Elaine Owens in Newark, New Jersey, Queen Latifah got her start as a rapper almost three decades ago.
She released her debut album “All Hail the Queen” in 1989, featuring the hit single “Ladies First”.
Her third album “Reign”, released in 1993, spawned the single “U.N.I.T.Y.”, which won a Grammy Award and was successful on the billboard, Hot 100.
She has also gotten an Oscar nod for “Chicago”, and was nominated twice in Emmy acting categories and won an Emmy for producing the HBO movie “Bessie.”
She created the globally acclaimed daytime talk show “The Queen Latifah Show”, which ran from late 2013 to early 2015 on CBS.
‘The Queen of Entertainment’ also has a Golden Globe, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards in her kitty.
The American Black Film Festival is an independent film festival that focuses primarily on works by black members of the American film industry.
The festival, known as “the nation’s most prominent film festival, the annual fiesta features full-length narratives, short films, mobile entertainment and documentaries all by and/or featuring black writers, directors, actors, and actresses."