Dana Elaine Owens (18 March 1970-) is an American rapper, actress, and singer from Newark, New Jersey. She released her debut album in 1989 and released a gold-certified album in 1993, becoming the first solo female rapper to do so; she later became a television and film actress and talk show host in the late 1990s. Her 1993 song "U.N.I.T.Y." raised awareness of violence against women and the objectification of Black female sexuality, and, in March 2024, she performed at a fundraiser for Democratic president Joe Biden's re-election campaign.