Queen Latifah to Host the 52nd Annual American Music Awards. Marking 30 Years Since Her AMAs Hosting Debut!

Today, CBS and Dick Clark Productions (DCP), the world’s largest owner and producer of televised live event entertainment programming, announced that Grammy® award-winning musician, critically acclaimed Emmy and Golden Globe®-winning and Academy Award®-nominated actress and producer Queen Latifah will host the 52nd American Music Awards (AMAs). Queen Latifah has a longstanding history with the AMAs, previously serving as a co-host in 1995, and delivering memorable performances in the years since.

As one of music’s most anticipated nights of the year, the 52nd American Music Awards returns to CBS and Paramount+ on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25 from the world-renowned MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the largest venue in the show’s history, to honor the most influential artists and songs of today alongside unforgettable performances and special moments in a multi-genre, cross-generational celebration of music. 

“I am so excited to return to the American Music Awards stage to host this year,” said Latifah. “It’s been an incredible year for music and there is no better place to celebrate than in Vegas.”

“We’re thrilled to welcome Queen Latifah back as host of the American Music Awards,” said Jay Penske, CEO, Dick Clark Productions. “A true powerhouse and trailblazer, she brings a dynamic presence and deep connection to both fans and fellow artists, making her the perfect choice to lead a night celebrating the biggest names and most defining moments in music.”

Queen Latifah is a Grammy-winning artist and Oscar-nominated actress whose career spans music, film, television, and production. She earned an Academy Award nomination, along with Golden Globe and SAG nominations, for her role as “Mama Morton” in Chicago, and won both a Golden Globe and SAG Award for Life Support. A trailblazer in entertainment, she became the first hip-hop artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006 and has received seven Grammy nominations, winning Best Rap Solo Performance in 1994. Her cultural impact was further recognized with the National Medal of the Arts in 2024 and honors at the 2023 Kennedy Center Honors. Beyond acting, she has built a successful production career through Flavor Unit Entertainment, producing films and television projects including Bessie and The Perfect Holiday.

Making her big screen debut in Spike Lee’s 1991 film, Jungle Fever, Latifah then starred in Set It Off and co-starred with Holly Hunter and Danny DeVito in the critically acclaimed Living Out Loud. From 1993-1998, Latifah starred in the network comedy “Living Single.” FollowingChicago, she starred in and executive-produced the box office hit Bringing Down the House. Her additional film credits include The Secret Life of Bees, alongside Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys and Dakota Fanning; Neil Meron and Craig Zadan’s Hairspray; Mad Money opposite Diane Keaton and Katie Holmes; Just Wright; Joyful Noise; The Last Holiday; Beauty Shop; Girls Trip alongside Jada Pinkett Smith, Regina Hall and Tiffany Haddish; and Hustle opposite Adam Sandler. She took to the stage and small screen performing as the title character in the television musical The Wiz Live! and as “Ursula” in ABC’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.

In recent years, Latifah headlined and executive produced CBS’ “The Equalizer,” which became the #1 new series in the 2020-2021 season. Looking ahead, she is set to reprise her role as “Ellie” in Ice Age: Boiling Point, continuing her long-running involvement in the popular animated franchise.

Nominations for the 52nd American Music Awards will be announced on Tuesday, April 14, 2026. Fan voting opens the same day, April 14, and will remain open until May 8, 2026. 

Additional details, including performers, presenters, and special honorees for the 52nd AMAs, will be announced in the coming weeks.