Queen Latifah says she doubted she’d make it in Hollywood: “Thought that was a bar I was never going to meet”

Queen Latifah is an award-winning actress who is just on letter award shy of an EGOT, but at one point in time, she doubted she’d be accepted in Hollywood.

“I watched this idea of what beauty was supposed to be – size two, blue-eyed. That was being pushed on everyone as I was growing up. I thought that was a bar I was never going to meet,” she shared while discussing obesity at the Cannes Lions Festival, per Deadline.

She said she questioned whether she’d ever make it in the music industry and “move into Hollywood in a way I would like to,” before realizing that success “was about finding people who understood that was the vision.”

While Queen notes “there was pushback” along the way from those “stuck in their mindsets,” she attributes the change in conversation to Oprah Winfrey and her willingness to be transparent about her weight over the years. 

“When I think of her and what she’s been through on that journey, I love the idea that someone will not have to endure the same journey today, that they will be able to walk into their doctor’s office and just have a conversation,” Queen said.