Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo and Alicia Keys – Ladies First

Story by Sharae Howard 
Images by Dave Ellis for Steed Media Service

“Trying
to hail a New York cab is a m———–!” Queen Latifah exclaims, as a
room full of journalists, there to get the facts about her latest film,
The Secret Life of Bees, laugh a little uncomfortably.

The movie, which is set in 1964 North Carolina, tells the story a group
of progressive black sisters, the Boatwrights, who are unexpectedly
forced to take care of a young white girl, Lily (played by Dakota
Fanning). Queen Latifah plays the lead role of August Boatwright, the
matriarch of the family. So naturally, the inevitable question about
race arises while discussing the movie.
“I had to hail cabs for my brother,” she continues bluntly, “so I’m not
saying racism is gone. But at the same time, my family was very
multicultural.”

Never one to hold her tongue, when Latifah first emerged on the rap scene in 1989 via All Hail the Queen,
she represented a new direction for not only female rappers, but women
in general. Nearly 20 years later, Latifah is still representing. A
certified mainstream star, she’s been able to transform her raw brand
of realism into something marketable for the masses, and they love her
for it.
 

Quite comfortable in her own skin, Latifah learned long ago not to let
anyone else define her. That is in part why she was so quick to take
the role of August Boatwright, a strong character with a definite sense
of who she is and her place in life.

“I’m one of those people that never wanted to play a slave, ‘Oh, massa
don’t beat me!” she says. “No, you don’t need me to do that, you’ve
seen it. You’ve seen the heavy hand of racism, you’ve seen the bigotry,
the burning, the killing, the murder. I didn’t want to be that person.
I’ve turned down scripts with that kind of character in it because I’ve
never wanted to be that, we’ve seen that character enough.”

Instead, August Boatwright is a strong woman who embodies the most
resilient characteristics of femininity. Written by Gina
Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball), The Secret Life of Bees
revolves around August and her sisters (Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo)
and their operation of a successful bee farm and honey-making business.
The Boatwright sisters’ lives are disrupted when 14-year-old Lily Owens
(Dakota Fanning)and her caretaker, Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson) appear on
their doorstep seeking refuge.

“The thing about segregation is that there were a lot of black
businesses,” says Latifah. “There were black people in all kinds of
positions back in the day and we lived side by side. We walked through
the same towns [and] we dealt with each other on a daily basis pretty
much. [There] wasn’t always fighting, there wasn’t always killing. Of
course, the South was the face of hatred as well, but that was the
strange dichotomy, and that’s what you don’t see enough of [in movies].
So for me it was extremely important to play this role.”

Latifah isn’t the only actor in the film that is happy knowing that her
role is multilayered and insightful. Academy Award-nominated actress,
Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda), who plays May August, says she was drawn to the complexity of the story.

“When you get to be in a movie with four strong black women, it’s not
something you regularly get the opportunity to do — it’s really
unusual,” she says, adding that she enjoyed her time filming in the
South. “In this movie you get the whole gambit; you laugh, you cry and
can be moved.”
Okonedo who first emerged in the emotional Hotel Rwanda,
has quickly earned the respect of Hollywood insiders and fans alike.
Reared in London, her quiet intensity has landed her parts in
critically acclaimed films, including her upcoming role in the
independent film Skin, about the life of a young woman growing up during apartheid in South Africa.

Much
like Latifah, Okonedo is already over the superficial frills of
Hollywood life. “Beauty has very little to do with cosmetics,” she
says, offering her personal concept of the word. “It’s definitely from
the inside. There are some people that just shine and you don’t really
know why.”

So, Okonedo, who first discovered her passion for acting while
attending the Royal Academy in London, focuses on her craft. “I’ve
never been particularly pushy,” she says thoughtfully, referring to her
foray into acting. “It’s just not me, and trying to do that isn’t me.
So I tend to just roll with it.”
Innately calm and laid-back, Okonedo applies her work theory to her
home life as well. As a mother, she’d rather be gardening or hanging
out with her children, than partying at some celebrity event.

“When I’m not working I have a lot to do,” she laughs. “I never have a
problem filling my day. I like gardening [and] anything outdoors and
away from people is nice.”

Both Okonedo and Latifah have stayed away from the often-distracting
glitter of Hollywood, and grounded themselves firmly in the realities
of everyday life. For Latifah in particular, who has constantly been
faced with rumors about her sexual preference, it’s been a necessity.

“I may read something in the paper and just when I start to get mad,
I’m like, ‘They’re just people,’ ” she shrugs. “People will let you
down, they won’t be around, but hey, they’re just people, what are you
gonna do?”

click here to view The Secret Life of Bees movie trailer

That’s
really the driving force behind Latifah’s latest rap album, due out
this December. In between filming, she’s been recording and returning
to the hip-hop roots that helped propel her to superstardom. Working
with popular Miami producers Cool & Dre, (Dre actually helped write
some of the album along with Ludacris) she says that her record is
about life, and its inevitable ups and downs.

“I started to call the album the L Word,
just to mess with people’s heads,” she laughs, mentioning that as of
yet, the project is untitled. “But the L was gonna stand for Love or
La. You know, just because people like to play games and I just wanna
jab back sometimes. But I was like, ‘nah, that’s too much energy
wasted.’ ”

When all is said and done, both actresses are content representing
women that reflect their individual strengths and even their flaws. For
Latifah, it’s all about consistency and living well.

“I just try to make sure I’m happy and live right,” she says. “I
vacation, I take a break. That’s as important as everything else.”