Someone as prolific and consistently stellar as Queen Latifah needs no introduction. At every surprising turn of her career as an actor, musician, and producer, she’s used an exacting work ethic and irrepressible enthusiasm to inspire women like her. “There were no blueprints for a lot of what I was doing,” she says of her beginnings in the music and filmmaking industries. How has she persevered for so long? “You have to fail,” she advises. “I, luckily, was thrown out there in enough things to fail and cry and get up and fail and cry.”

After blazing trails as one of the first women in jazz-rap at age 17, Queen Latifah refused pigeonholing in the biz, getting her start onscreen in Spike Lee’s “Jungle Fever” and Will Smith’s “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” She’s since starred in “Living Single,” “Set It Off,” “Bringing Down the House,” “Chicago,” “Last Holiday,” “Hairspray,” “Bessie,” “The Wiz Live,” “Girls Trip,” “Star,” “Flint,” “The Little Mermaid Live,” and “Hollywood,” earning an Emmy Award, three SAG Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, and an Academy Award nomination. She now produces CBS’ action-drama “The Equalizer,” on which she stars as Robyn McCall. This episode is brought to you by HBO.

Stick around for Backstage casting insider Christine McKenna-Tirella’s breakdown on taking headshots: https://bit.ly/2U7V028

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Backstage has been the #1 resource for actors and talent-seekers for 60 years. In the Envelope, Backstage’s podcast, features intimate, in-depth conversations with today’s most noteworthy film, television, and theater actors and creators. This is your guide to every aspect of acting, from voiceover and commercial work to casting directors, agents, and more. Full of both know-how and inspiration, In the Envelope airs weekly to cover everything from practical advice on navigating the industry, to how your favorite projects are made, to personal stories of success and failure alike. Join host Jack Smart, Awards Editor at Backstage, for this guide on how to live the creative life from those who are doing it every day: https://bit.ly/2OMryWQ

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Special thanks to...

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- Producer: Jamie Muffett

- Social media: Katie Minard, Alysa Cirelli

- Design: Mark Stinson, Caitlin Watkins

- Additional support: Christine McKenna-Tirella, Kasey Howe, Samantha Sherlock, Benjamin Lindsay, Oriella St. Louis