Queen Latifah, as far as the public is concerned, has been single since recording her first hit 20 years ago and, as the New Jersey-born actress and singer continues to climb the ladder to fame and fortune, many men are coming out of the woodwork trying to land a date with the big, black, beautiful woman.



Born Dana Owens in Newark, New Jersey on March 18, 1970, she later adopted the name Queen Latifah as she charged into the limelight as a talented young singer and rapper at the age of 18. The word ?Latifah? is Arabic for delicate and sensitive, but with many of her hard-hitting movie rolls and controversial personal history, the woman has proven herself as anything but delicate. Now, as she nears the age of 40, men from all walks of life are trying to land a date with the star. It's even rumored that Steve Martin, when working on ?Bringing Down the House? with Latifah back in 2003, made a few unsuccessful moves on the actress.

?I just can't resist those big, beautiful curves,? said John Bushey of Indianapolis, Indiana. ?I've been a Latifah fan since her first LP debut ?All Hail The Queen.? I've seen all her movies. She's funny, outgoing and, above all, beautiful. Some say she's fat. Well, I say fat is beautiful.?

Many of the would-be-male-suitors ignore allegations that the long-time single Latifah is possibly a lesbian. Many, including Latifah herself, say she just hasn't met the right person yet. Some think she might have an easy time meeting Mr. Right on the Internet because fat dating sites and fat web-communities are on the rise.

?I have to make a confession,? said Steven Bouchard of Seattle, Washington. ?I find Queen Latifah's big, beautiful body to be super sexy and I'd give anything for a date with her. I've always had a thing for fat black women and she really is the epitome of everything I find attractive.?

Bouchard said he's always surfing fat dating sites, online confessionals and free BBW sites in search of women like Latifah. He said he loves her inner strength as much as he loves her size and he hopes to someday find someone that matches her beauty.

?I know I'll probably never land a date with the Queen no matter how hard I try,? said Bouchard. ?But I can at least try and find a woman like her. I find social networking and surfing BBW dating sites works best when trying to meet new people. I'm shocked to see how many fat lovers are out there ? there really are a lot of people out there who find fat ladies beautiful.?

Getting her start in an all-female rap group named Ladies Fresh, she recorded a single in 1988 called "Wrath of My Madness." In 1989 Queen Latifah's debut LP "All Hail The Queen" was a major hit. She later released "Nature Of A Sista" and "Black Reign" which included the hit single "U.N.I.T.Y." She won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for "U.N.I.T.Y." She has also stared in movies like Jungle Fever, Chicago, Taxi and Stranger than Fiction. She's stared in television and done commercials for Cover Girl cosmetics, Curvation, ladies underwear, Pizza Hut and even Jenny Craig. She even developed her own line of cosmetics for women of color called the Covergirl Queen Collection.

She has earned a Golden Globe award, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy Award nomination and an Academy Award nomination.