Rapper Queen Latifah arrested

Queen Latifah was stopped by police while driving in North Hollywood

Rap star and actress Queen Latifah has been arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of drink-driving.

The hip-hop star, 32 - one of the East Coast's biggest female rap stars - was stopped by highway police in North Hollywood.

Police say she had made an unsafe lane change.

The star was asked to take a sobriety test - the US name for a breathalyser test.

She was then found to be "under the influence", according to police officer Alex Delgadillo.

Latifah - real name Dana Owens - was booked and released.

Latifah's spokespeople have not yet made any comment.

Gun

It is not the fiirst time the rapper has had car-related run-ins with police.

Latifah pleased guilty to a weapons misdemeanour charge in 1996 when a California Highway Patrol officer found a loaded gun in her car door compartment.

The rap star had been car-jacked the year before in New York, and her companion was shot.

Latifah first rose to fame in 1989 with her pro-feminist rap album All Hail The Queen.

She won a Grammy Award in 1995 for her hit song U.N.I.T.Y.

As well as her music success, she branched into acting, appearing in films such as Jungle Fever and The Bone Collector.

She also appeared in the TV series Living Single, and had her own talk show on US TV from 199 to 2001.

She has also appeared in the Michael J. Fox sitcom Spin City.

She returned to music with the album Order In The Court in 1998.