Queen Latifah has always been proud of her New Jersey roots. The rapper and actress (born Dana Owens and raised in East Orange) brought her father to 'The Tonight Show' this week, where Jimmy Fallon gushed about the Newark police veteran.

Fallon also got Latifah to share a story about one of her first paycheck splurges, a boat from somewhere along the Jersey Shore. Luckily, she took dad along for the ill-fated cruise. (Watch the seasoned storyteller in the clip, below).

Turns out, Queen Latifah 'knew a guy' at the DMV, who helped speed up the boat operator's license. In hindsight, she has realized how dangerous the outing was. The boat wasn't the only large-ticket item purchased by Latifah in her home state. She sold off her Monmouth County mansion, a couple years ago.

Queen Latifah is in the new R-rated comedy, Girls Trip. One of her co-stars, Mike Colter also has a Jersey connection.The 'Luke Cage' actor (who also wowed on 'The Good Wife') got a master's degree in acting at Rutgers University!

Girls Trip also stars Regina Hall,  Tiffany Haddish, Jada Pinkett Smith and Larenz Tate.


Proud Jersey Girl Erin Vogt’s first reporting gig involved her Fisher Price tape recorder. As a wife and momma of two kiddies, she firmly believes that life’s too short to drink bad coffee.  A fan of the beach, Dave Grohl and karma, in no particular order.

Follow her on Twitter and on Facebook as ProudJersey.

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