She starred in the popular television sitcom, Living Single, and most recently in movies such as Brown Sugar and Chicago, for which she is an Oscar nominee.

Aside from the arts, the Queen is also active in numerous charities, including the Lancelot H. Owens Scholarship Fund, named after her late brother and dedicated to providing children with educational and leadership opportunities.

And her stage name, “Latifah,” means “sensitivity” in the Arabic language.

Queen Latifah’s role model status excited some students who plan on attending the show Saturday.

“She’s very cool,” said Uzma Hasan, a student at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. “She doesn’t just represent the Afro-American culture, but actual issues as well. She’s up there as a woman, and it’s nice to see she’s not all about her [entertainment] career.”

Adebola S. Owolewa ’05, a member of the Harvard African Students’ Association, also said she was impressed with the Foundation’s pick.

“I think [Queen Latifah] is a great person to look at,” Owolewa said. “She’s done her own thing from music to TV to movies, reinventing her career. She’s redefined what it means to be an artist.”

The Cultural Ryhthms show is designed to promote diversity at Harvard, Counter said yesterday.

“It brings communities at Harvard together in a very special way,” he said. “Harvard is a much more diverse place than when Cultural Rhythms started.”

In addition to the appearance of the honored guest, the 1,000 students expected to attend Cultural Rhythms can look forward to a wide array of performances from over 30 student organizations, including a Chinese yo-yo group, the Kuumba choir and presentations by other ethnic groups.

Queen Latifah will host the first show in Sanders Theater on Feb. 22 from 3-5 p.m. The food festival will follow in the Science Center from 5-7 p.m. and the second show, to be emceed by students, will be from 7:30-9:30 p.m.