Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
NEW YORK (AP) — Queen Latifah is mourning the death of her mother.
In a statement, the singer and actress says Rita Owens died Wednesday after struggling with a heart condition for many years. The statement did not given her mother's age or say where the death occurred.
She was diagnosed with heart trouble in 2004.
Queen Latifah, whose real name is Dana Owens, says her mom was "the love of my life."
She described her mother as gentle, strong, sweet and sassy.
There was no immediate word on funeral arrangements.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.