Get push notifications with news, features and more. + Follow Following Speaking candidly on the new PEOPLE Every Day podcast, she opened up about her unique journey through hip-hop and Hollywood — and how her mother's love has been there every step of the way. "She was always an encouragement," she says of Owens, who she lost in 2018, following a long battle with the autoimmune disease scleroderma. The two were famously close and her mother's death was a crushing blow for the star, who says "everything queenly about me came from my mother." For much more on Queen Latifah's powerful journey, pick up this week's issue, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe