Queen Latifah's weighty woes

After years of dealing with weight problems, Queen Latifah has finally accepted her body, and claimed that she is proud to be a role model to young girls who are worried about their size.

The bulky star has long been haunted by fears about the shape of her body, and has recently signed up as a spokeswoman for a U.S. diet program, under which she had shed a few pounds.
While she has retained her curves, Queen Latifah has confessed that she is now happy with her ''plus-size'' figure.

And she has credited her contentment to a chance conversation with a chauffeur who gave her some confidence back.

"I was in Utah for the Sundance Film Festival. I was at the airport and the limo driver told me about his 12-year-old daughter, who wanted to be a singer and had a beautiful voice. However, her classmates were teasing her about her body and telling her she was never going to make it,” the Daily Express quoted her as saying.

She added: "She saw me perform on TV and I inspired her to sing again. She saw me and my appearance and my success and the great job I did. This was a 12-year-old kid whose dream had been halted by negative comments, but she saw me deliver a knock-out performance and it made her believe she could become successful too."

Now, Latifah is hoping to inspire youngsters to learn to love their looks.
She said: "I have heard a lot of stories like that and they inspire me to keep going and keep being myself."