Why Queen Latifah’s Characters Don’t Die in Her Movies Anymore
Once celebrities achieve A-list status, they get to cherry-pick projects and sign contracts that they want. It’s not uncommon to hear an in-demand actor or singer make specific — and sometimes odd — demands in their contracts for different reasons.
Queen Latifah has been in the entertainment industry for decades which has granted her the grace to choose what she does in movies. Latifah’s characters don’t die in her movies anymore. Here’s why.
Queen Latifah got her acting breakthrough in ‘Set It Off’
Although Latifah had received acclaim before largely due to her music, the 1996 crime action film Set It Off put her on the map as an actor. The movie details a quartet of friends who plan and execute a string of bank robberies for personal reasons but with a common goal, to better their lives.
Although most of the robberies go off without a hitch, their last one leads to a vicious bloodbath, with only one of the friends surviving and running off to Mexico.
Set It Off was a commercial success earning $41 million against its budget of $9 million. It was also a critical success and holds a 70% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The movie stars Jada Pinkett Smith as Stony, Latifah as Cleo, Vivica A. Fox as Frankie and Kimberly Elise as T.T. Latifah’s character, Cleo, was the second person in the friend group to die.
Queen Latifah’s contract stipulates that she can’t die in her movies
Actors sometimes have otherworldly demands baked into their contracts before they do movies. For instance, Uma Thurman once demanded that she get three mobile phones and a three-bedroom hotel suite to film a movie that never even got made.
After appearing in Set It Off, Latifah realized dying in movies seals the deal shut for an actor. Once an actor dies in a movie, they cannot return for a sequel, and Latifah found a way to bypass this. She told James Corden in 2017 that she “put a death clause” in her contract after Set It Off.
She said, “I always had these deaths scenes- and apparently, I died too well. I was like, ‘Hold on. Wait a minute. If I die in these movies, I can’t be in the sequel.'” From then on, Latifah decided she won’t be dying anymore in her projects.
Queen Latifah started out in the music industry
Latifah didn’t start her career as the movie star we know her to be today. The rapper got her start in the industry through music. She beatboxed for a hip-hop group called Ladies Fresh. At the same time, she was part of the group Flavor Unit.
Latifah was discovered by Fab 5 Freddie, who hosted Yo! MTV Raps, after getting his hands on a recording of Latifah’s music. After a music executive at Tommy Boy records heard her music, they offered the rapper a record deal.
The singer released her first studio album, All Hail the Queen, in 1989. All Hail the Queen peaked at No. 6 on the U.S. R&B chart, leading to the hit song “Ladies First.” Latifah dropped her second album, Nature of a Sista, two years later. Latifah grew in prominence because her music highlighted her struggles as a Black woman.
Her songs covered various social topics such as harassment on the streets, domestic violence, and relationship issues. Latifah released several albums, including Black Reign, Order in The Court, Trav’lin Light, and Persona.
In 1991, Latifah started taking on supporting roles in films and TV shows, appearing in House Party 2, Jungle Fever, Hanging’ With Mr. Cooper, and Juice. She appeared in two episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, playing different characters.
