Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#1746
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Queen Latifah represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 36 years in, and Queen is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Queen Latifah appears in 29 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Queen. Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery is the clearest case: a film rated 7.9 by our editors, where the performance carries weight the script only implies.
The recognisable elements are versatility, transformation, quiet performance. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same instrument, tuned differently for comedy, adventure, family. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with John Donkin, Ally Pankiw, Jeremiah Zagar and others, Queen Latifah helped set a standard other performers now audition against. Awards bodies have been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.
Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery (2025) as Self · Hustle (2022) as Teresa Sugerman · The Secret Life of Bees (2008) as August Boatwright
Career snapshot
Ranked #1746 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
29
1991–2027
Career length
36 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
7.9
Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery
Average Nutevio score
6.3
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
7.9
Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery
Most frequent director
Carlos Saldanha
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With Carlos Saldanha
Most common genre
Comedy
17 titles
Average runtime
1h 45m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
6.8
out of 10
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio metric
Cultural impact and legacy, measured separately from craft — how far the work travelled once it left the cinema.
Nutevio Influence Score
6.6
out of 10
A quieter influence — felt inside the films rather than across the industry.
How far the work travelled past the people who saw it first.
What survives once the release-week conversation has burned off.
Institutional acknowledgement, weighted but never decisive.
Years of chosen, relevant work rather than years merely employed.
Statuettes, read as evidence rather than verdict.
Roles named without needing the film named alongside them.
Directors who wrote parts because this performer existed.
The reading other performers now have to answer.
Actor DNA
A fingerprint derived from the roles themselves — register, range and the kind of film they carry.
The shape of a career
Every performance plotted in time. Hover a point to read the title behind it.
Peak years
Where the scores, the awards and the sheer volume of work agree with each other.
Best decade
2000s
6.6 average MV
The 2000s are where the work and the material meet. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Mad Money, The Secret Life of Bees — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2000s
6.6
Across 11 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2000s
6.6
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1990s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. The Bone Collector, Bringing Out the Dead, Sphere.
Most productive era
2000s
11 films
The busiest stretch of the catalogue — volume that reads as appetite rather than availability.
Range, mapped
Genres down the side, decades across the top. Warmer cells mean stronger titles.
| Genre | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 6.65 films | 7.24 films | 5.31 film | 6.43 films |
| Action | — | 6.02 films | 6.81 film | — |
| Thriller | 6.52 films | 5.61 film | — | 6.01 film |
| Comedy | — | 6.510 films | 6.15 films | 3.92 films |
| Crime | 6.72 films | 6.43 films | 6.81 film | — |
| Romance | 6.62 films | 6.64 films | 5.91 film | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1991Jungle Fever
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Lashawn.
Career peak
2022Hustle
Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Highest rated performance
2025Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery
7.9 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer.
Most recent film
The current state of the argument, as Ellie (voice).
Our order
Every performance in the catalogue, ordered by Nutevio Score.
Every title
Filter by genre or decade, and compare any two titles side by side.
29 of 29 films
as Teresa Sugerman
Directed by Jeremiah Zagar
as August Boatwright
Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood
as Penny Escher
Directed by Marc Forster
as Matron Mama Morton
Directed by Rob Marshall
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
Loading credits…
The defining work
#1
Teresa Sugerman
Hustle (2022)
Performance score8.0
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Teresa Sugerman gives Queen Latifah a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
August Boatwright
The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
Performance score7.8
The Secret Life of Bees asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. August Boatwright is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Self
Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery (2025)
Performance score7.7
Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Self is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Penny Escher
Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
Performance score7.4
Stranger Than Fiction asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Penny Escher is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movieStart here
A guided path through the work, ordered so each film explains the next.
Best entry point
as Teresa Sugerman
Start here. Hustle is the clearest statement of what Queen Latifah does — accessible, 117 minutes, and rated 7.7 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Queen at the most legible performance, then move forward in time so each film reads as a response to the one before it rather than a repetition of it.
Chicago (2002)
Keeps the comedy register of Hustle but asks for a colder reading of it.
Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
Keeps the comedy register of Chicago but asks for a colder reading of it.
The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
Keeps the drama register of Stranger Than Fiction but asks for a colder reading of it.
Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery (2025)
A deliberate change of key after The Secret Life of Bees — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Carlos Saldanha
Director
2 films together
Notably Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Spike Lee
Director
1 film together
Notably Jungle Fever
Bruce Joel Rubin
Director
1 film together
Notably My Life
Bill Duke
Director
1 film together
Notably Hoodlum
Barry Levinson
Director
1 film together
Notably Sphere
Martin Scorsese
Director
1 film together
Notably Bringing Out the Dead
Phillip Noyce
Director
1 film together
Notably The Bone Collector
Rob Marshall
Director
1 film together
Notably Chicago
David Zucker
Director
1 film together
Notably Scary Movie 3
Tim Story
Director
1 film together
Notably Taxi
Bille Woodruff
Director
1 film together
Notably Beauty Shop
Marc Forster
Director
1 film together
Notably Stranger Than Fiction
Adam Shankman
Director
1 film together
Notably Hairspray
Tom Vaughan
Director
1 film together
Notably What Happens in Vegas
Gina Prince-Bythewood
Director
1 film together
Notably The Secret Life of Bees
Callie Khouri
Director
1 film together
Notably Mad Money
Garry Marshall
Director
1 film together
Notably Valentine's Day
Ron Howard
Director
1 film together
Notably The Dilemma
Phil Lord
Director
1 film together
Notably 22 Jump Street
Nas
Director
1 film together
Notably You're Watching Video Music Box
Millicent Shelton
Director
1 film together
Notably End of the Road
Jeremiah Zagar
Director
1 film together
Notably Hustle
Ally Pankiw
Director
1 film together
Notably Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery
John Donkin
Director
1 film together
Notably Ice Age: Boiling Point
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Carlos Saldanha
Director
2 films together · 6.9 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Ice Age: Dawn of the DinosaursAlly Pankiw
Director
1 film together · 7.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Lilith Fair: Building a MysteryJeremiah Zagar
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
HustleGina Prince-Bythewood
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Secret Life of BeesMarc Forster
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Stranger Than FictionRob Marshall
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
ChicagoPhil Lord
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
22 Jump StreetPhillip Noyce
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Bone CollectorAdam Shankman
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
HairsprayBruce Joel Rubin
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
My LifeMartin Scorsese
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Bringing Out the DeadCallie Khouri
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Mad MoneyBill Duke
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
HoodlumNas
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
You're Watching Video Music BoxSpike Lee
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Jungle FeverBille Woodruff
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Beauty ShopBarry Levinson
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
SphereTom Vaughan
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
What Happens in VegasMillicent Shelton
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
End of the RoadDavid Zucker
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Scary Movie 3Garry Marshall
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Valentine's DayTim Story
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
TaxiRon Howard
Director
1 film together · 5.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The DilemmaJohn Donkin
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Ice Age: Boiling PointSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery
as Self
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
The Secret Life of Bees
as August Boatwright
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery
as Self
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Jungle Fever
as Lashawn
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Hustle
as Teresa Sugerman
If the career had to be argued in a single scene, our editors would pick one from this film and rest the case.
In their films' words
“You can build a whole film around a performer who knows when not to speak. Queen Latifah has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Career Achievement
Awarded
36 years of relevant work — not merely a long career, but a long career of choices.
Modern Classic Performer
Awarded
Defining performances delivered inside the last twenty-five years, in films already being taught rather than merely remembered.
Comedy Legend
Awarded
17 catalogue titles in comedy, each one a reference point for the films that followed.
Our desk
Best ending, best opening, best twist and the rest — categories we apply to everyone we cover.
Best ending
Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery
as Self
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
The Bone Collector
as Thelma
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
The Secret Life of Bees
as August Boatwright
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Sphere
as Alice 'Teeny' Fletcher
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
The Secret Life of Bees
as August Boatwright
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
22 Jump Street
as Mrs. Dickson (uncredited)
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Stranger Than Fiction
as Penny Escher
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Ice Age: The Meltdown
as Ellie (voice)
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
Matt Damon
Works with the same directors — Martin Scorsese
Michael Caine
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Tom Hanks
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Bonnie Hunt
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Leonardo DiCaprio
Works with the same directors — Martin Scorsese
Robert De Niro
Works with the same directors — Martin Scorsese
Have your say
Community
Which Queen Latifah performance holds up best?
Our readers argue about this one. Make your case, or read the ranked debate already in progress.
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Reference
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