Queen Latifah: I've brought more to Bessie

Queen Latifah can speak from a more authentic place in her latest role.

The Chicago actress has taken on the role of American blues singer Bessie Smith in a new biopic of her life, Bessie. The 45-year-old has been attached to the role since her early 20s but is glad it took years for the production to come together as she can bring so much more to the part now.

"I was terrified initially. I thought, wow, her voice is nothing like mine and this music is so different to what I do," she confessed to British newspaper Metro. "I'm glad this role happened now because I have a lot more life experience. I've kind of been through some of the things that Bessie has been through. I've lived a little bit of her life and I can speak from a more authentic place."

Bessie was the most popular blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s and is credited as one of the greatest singer of her era. The film's director Dee Rees has described the musician as a radical feminist, although it's likely she wouldn't have considered herself as one at the time. It's something Latifah can relate to as well.

"I did not think of myself as a feminist when I started [out]. I just felt like what's fair is fair, what's right is right, and I'm fighting for it and I want my voice to be heard," she explained. "I didn't know what I was doing at the time - 17 or 18 years old - was feminism. The only time I'd heard the word or seen it in the media, it was referring to and involving white women. As I got a little older I understood and I knew what the word was for what I was doing."