It's over 5 years since Queen Latifah’s mother, Rita Owens, passed away just days after Latifah's birthday in 2018 after struggling with a heart condition for more than a decade. While each year gets easier, she still misses her mom.
“It is with a heavy heart that I share the news my mother, Rita Owens passed away,” said Latifah on the day her mom passed. “Anyone that has ever met her knows what a bright light she was on this earth. She was gentle, but strong, sweet, but sassy, worldly but pragmatic, a woman of great faith and certainly the love of my life.”
“She had struggled with a heart condition for many years and her battle is now over,” the Girls Trip star shared. “I am heartbroken but know she is at peace. Thank you for your kindness, support and respect for our privacy at this time. Much Love, Dana Owens (aka Queen Latifah), forever Rita Owens’ daughter.”
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In 2013, Owens was diagnosed with scleroderma, an incurable autoimmune disease that caused scar tissue to build up in her lungs, requiring her to be on oxygen 24/7.
Owens was later diagnosed with heart failure after passing out while teaching art at a New Jersey high school. The diagnosis changed Latifah and her mother’s relationship for the better Latifah told PEOPLE in an interview. “We’ve learned a new us. We’ve gotten a lot closer and we’ve learned each other on a whole different, deeper level.”
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“I watched her come through so many things, ups and downs, hospitalizations – I mean really being in the ICU for that matter – you know, going through tough times and watching her come back and bounce back and still maintain this sense of humor, and love and drive and will,” Latifah said of her mom. “I just love her so much more, I respect her so much more. She really just gives me hope for life and the world.”
https://youtu.be/ORpik_mPMUk?si=lNFCE4ugug4Ypp_j
One woman dies every minute from heart disease, a little-known fact that is overshadowed by other high-profile diseases for women. Heart disease, once considered a “man’s disease”, is a cause of great concern for women. It is called a “silent killer” because it often has no symptoms or presents pain that is barely noticeable. The most commonly recognized symptom is persistent chest pain, pressure or other discomfort, called angina. This pain results when the heart is...
... getting too little blood or oxygen. It can be felt under the breastbone and tends to accompany exercise or extreme emotional stress. Women, however, are more likely than men to experience a different type of chest pain which is sharp and temporary.
Black women suffer rates of heart disease that are twice as high as those among white women. Some of the factors that contribute to this disparity include higher rates of overweight and obesity, higher rates of elevated cholesterol levels and high blood pressure and limited awareness of our elevated risks. In addition to having high heart disease rates, Black women die from heart disease more often than all other Americans.
Since 2013, Latifah has been a caregiver for her mom and loved every minute of it.
“As a caregiver – it’s just like being a parent, like some things really don’t matter,” Latifah said. “All the kind of frivolous things sort of fall to the side because there’s something way more important than all that. And when we go through these things together as a family, I realize, these are the important things, these are the important moments.”
Continue to rest In heaven Rita Owens.
