Queen Latifah, 53, is best known for her musical and acting talent and has built quite a successful professional career over the years, but it turns out she’s also a doting mother. The “U.N.I.T.Y.” crooner has one child, a son, that she has been raising in her private life. In addition to being a parent to her son, she previously stepped up into the role of a caregiver to her mom, Rita Owens, after she was diagnosed with a heart condition in 2005.q
“As a caregiver — it’s just like being a parent, like some things really don’t matter,” Queen Latifah told PEOPLE before her mom’s death in 2018. “All the kind of frivolous things sort of fall to the side because there’s something way more important than all that. And when we go through these things together as a family, I realize, these are the important things, these are the important moments.”
Find out more about Queen Latifah’s son and her experience with parenthood below.
Queen Latifah Has One Son
Queen Latifah has one son whom she tries to keep as private as possible, reportedly named Rebel. “You don’t get that part of me,” she once told The New York Times about her personal life. In 2016, she opened up a bit more when she hinted that she wanted to start a family. “I think I’m ready. I can’t say what God has for me, but you will see. You’ll see when I’m lugging the baby on the hip that there is actually a youngin’ around here,” she told E! Online.
When Did Queen Latifah Become a Mom?
Queen Latifah ended up becoming a mother to her son shortly after she lost her mom in 2018. Once her new role became public, she expressed a desire for giving him siblings.
“I’ve always envisioned myself with a big family, I’m a late bloomer. I’m a late bloomer with a lot of things and you know — nobody’s perfect,” she told PEOPLE Now. “I’m an overachiever in some ways and just like slow as molasses in other ways. I think I kind of needed to grow and mature and get everything kind of taken care of with everything before I was able to really deal with it.”
Although Queen Latifah didn’t become a mom until she was in her late 40s, she had experience with babies in the years prior. One story that shows that is when she helped two women with babies get through airport security in New York in 2017.
“I met the loveliest lady who had like 3 kids with her, one a baby. She was trying to get her stuff together, we were just having a polite conversation and I said, ‘You need me to hold that baby?’ She was like, ‘Would you mind?’ and I’m like, ‘Give me the baby,’ ” she explained. “So I hold that baby while she got everything together with the three kids and stuff and her husband came through and then he took the baby.”
“Then another lady came through with two other kids, husband and a dog and she’s trying to get her boots on,” she continued. “I said, ‘You need me to hold that baby?’ She was like, ‘Would you mind?’ I said, ‘Give me that baby.’ I mean I think I’m a natural at this thing.”
Has Queen Latifah’s Son Ever Been Seen in Public?
Once Queen Latifah became a mom, her son made his first public appearance at a Harlem Globetrotters basketball game at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY with her. He was around four years old at the time and sat courtside next to his mom.
Queen Latifah Gave Her Son a Shoutout in 2021
When she accepted the BET Lifetime Achievement Award, the loving parent made sure to mention her son in the closing remarks of her speech. “Eboni, my love. Rebel, my love,” she said before adding, “Happy Pride.”