Queen Latifah's rarely-seen son Rebel steals the spotlight in adorable family moment


Queen Latifah has been with her partner, Eboni Nichols, for over a decade, and the pair welcomed their son together in 2019


queen latifah son rebel© Getty Images
Faye James
Faye JamesSenior Editor
31 minutes ago

Queen Latifah was a proud mom on Monday night as she brought her young son, Rebel, to watch the Atlanta Dream play the New York Liberty at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The legendary rapper beamed as she sat in the front row at the WNBA game, with Rebel by her side in black pants and a black T-shirt, his hair tied back into a lengthy plait. Queen Latifah looked laid back in a black and white tracksuit paired with white and gray sneakers, aviator sunglasses and dangling earrings.

Queen Latifah WNBA son rebel© Getty Images
Queen Latifah brought her son Rebel to the WNBA game

The 56-year-old and her son shared a sweet on-camera moment when she popped up on the Jumbotron and waved to the crowd. She then kissed Rebel's waving hand and pulled him into the shot as he smiled for the camera.

"Thank us later! THE QUEEN IS IN THE BUILDING," the official New York Liberty Instagram account wrote alongside a photo of the mother-son duo. Fans couldn't get enough of their sweet appearance, with one writing: "Her son is so cute," while another added: "We love the Queen!"

Inside her private life

queen latifah son rebel wnba© Instagram
The rapper and her son came up on the Jumbotron

Queen Latifah shares her only child with her longtime partner, Eboni Nichols, whom she was first pictured with back in 2015. She has kept her family life largely under wraps, and told SF Gate that it was important to separate her fame from her home life.

"I don't feel the need to discuss my personal life with the media or the fans," she explained. "You lose your anonymity as part of success. But there are parts of my life that I just want to keep for me and my family and my friends and the person I'm with."

Rebel's birth was kept quiet for two years, before Queen Latifah quietly slipped the news in during a speech at the BET Awards in 2021. "Eboni, my love. Rebel, my love," she said at the time. "Peace. Happy Pride!"

He made his red-carpet debut at the American Music Awards in May 2026, as his mom was hosting the awards show.

Motherhood 101

Eboni Nichols and Queen Latifah son rebel basketball game© Getty Images
Queen Latifah shares Rebel with her partner, Eboni Nichols

Queen Latifah got candid about the highs and lows of parenting in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, revealing that she did it all with the help of her "village".

"[Motherhood] makes you put one foot in front of the other no matter what. I'm going to leave it at that. You got to put one foot in front of the other. There's no quitting," she said. "It's a challenge. Everything gets real. Priorities change too. You know, you realize what's really important and who's really important."

queen latifah family amas© FilmMagic
Rebel made his red-carpet debut in May 2026

"And it's tougher on other people, because when you get an actual baby, the grown people you treat like babies have to grow up, cause sorry, you can't get that," she continued. "But I thank God for the tribe, for the village. It takes a village, and I really am thankful for mine."

Meanwhile, Queen Latifah is currently starring as a judge on the 30th season of The Voice, alongside Kelly Clarkson, Riley Green and Adam Levine, marking her debut on the hit talent show. 

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