{"id":12110,"date":"2025-11-13T03:30:29","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T03:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/?p=12110"},"modified":"2025-11-13T03:30:29","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T03:30:29","slug":"%f0%9f%91%91-family-pride-and-grief-queen-latifahs-emotional-living-single-memories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/?p=12110","title":{"rendered":"\ud83d\udc51 Family Pride and Grief: Queen Latifah’s Emotional Living Single Memories"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hip-hop legend and actress <\/span>Queen Latifah<\/span><\/b> is looking back on the early days of her iconic sitcom, <\/span>Living Single<\/span><\/i><\/b>, with deep affection, humor, and a surprising vulnerability, as she shared memories of having her mother, <\/span>Rita Owens<\/span><\/b>, on set.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Appearing on the <\/span>“ReLiving Single”<\/span><\/b> podcast, hosted by original castmates <\/span>Kim Coles<\/span><\/b> and <\/span>Erika Alexander<\/span><\/b>, Latifah confirmed that the show was not only a professional milestone but a personal comfort during a difficult period of grief.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The Pride and The Pain<\/span><\/h3>\n

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The sitcom, which ran from 1993 to 1998<\/b> on Fox, began shortly after a major tragedy in Latifah’s life:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • The Loss:<\/span><\/b> “I lost my brother in <\/span>1992<\/span><\/b>,” Latifah stated, referring to the tragic death of her older brother, <\/span>Lance Owens Jr.<\/span><\/b> (a policeman who died in a motorcycle accident while off-duty).<\/span> “We started Living Single<\/i> in 1993<\/b>. So I was coming off of that.”<\/span>\n
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  • The Mother’s Presence:<\/b> Latifah\u2019s mother, Rita Owens<\/b> (who played Khadijah’s mother, Rita James<\/b>, on the show), was a source of pride and anxiety for the star. Latifah noted her mother loved the cast and was “so very proud of us.” However, seeing her mother on set was <\/span>“a little nerve-wracking,”<\/span><\/b> because she was nervous for her.<\/span> “My body was so tight,” Latifah recalled, relieved when the scenes were over so she “could calm down.”<\/span><\/span>\n
    <\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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    The Power of Matriarchs and Mentorship<\/span><\/h3>\n

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    The family connection on Living Single<\/i> was a unique feature of the show’s chemistry.<\/span><\/p>\n

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    • Family on Screen:<\/span><\/b> Not only did Latifah’s mother, Rita Owens, play her mother on-screen, but <\/span>Kim Fields’<\/span><\/b> real-life mother, the veteran actress and director <\/span>Chip Fields-Hurd<\/span><\/b>, played Regine’s mother, <\/span>Laverne Hunter<\/span><\/b>.<\/span><\/span>\n
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    • Coaching and Brilliance:<\/b> Latifah took a moment to celebrate Chip Fields-Hurd’s mentorship, noting her crucial behind-the-scenes role: <\/span>“She coached me, she coached my mother.<\/span> She was brilliant.\u201d<\/b><\/span>\n
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      The Instant Chemistry<\/span><\/h3>\n

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      The exchange between Latifah, Coles (<\/span>Synclaire James-Jones<\/span><\/b>), and Alexander (<\/span>Maxine Shaw<\/span><\/b>) underscored the lasting bond that formed among the six friends who brought the Brooklyn brownstone to life (the main cast also included <\/span>Kim Fields<\/span><\/b>, <\/span>T.C. Carson<\/span><\/b>, and <\/span>John Henton<\/span><\/b>).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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      Alexander jokingly remarked that her casting as the sharp-tongued attorney Maxine Shaw seemed random: “You just found me off the street, like an urchin.”<\/span> Latifah disagreed, recalling the moment of Alexander’s arrival, which instantly elevated the ensemble: <\/span>“To get you was like, ‘what?!'”<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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      The series remains a cultural touchstone for its groundbreaking portrayal of young Black professionals navigating friendship, love, and ambition.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Hip-hop legend and actress Queen Latifah is looking back on the early days of her iconic sitcom, Living Single, with deep affection, humor, and a surprising vulnerability, as she shared memories of having her mother, Rita Owens, on set. Appearing on the “ReLiving Single” podcast, hosted by original castmates Kim Coles and Erika Alexander, Latifah…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12110\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}