{"id":1979,"date":"2026-06-29T23:22:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T15:22:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sasgai.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/29\/queen-latifah-crowned-herself-with-a-towering-braided-updo-at-the-bet-awards-see-photos\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T23:22:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T15:22:33","slug":"queen-latifah-crowned-herself-with-a-towering-braided-updo-at-the-bet-awards-see-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sasgai.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/29\/queen-latifah-crowned-herself-with-a-towering-braided-updo-at-the-bet-awards-see-photos\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen Latifah Crowned Herself With a Towering Braided Updo at the BET Awards \u2014 See Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>There was no shortage of stunning (understatement) looks at the BET Awards, but it leave it to someone who\u2019s been attending the event for over 20 years to really show us how it\u2019s done. <strong>Queen Latifah<\/strong> looked like an absolute work of art at the ceremony celebrating Black brilliance in entertainment, arriving in a voluminous ensemble topped with a braided updo that deserves its own icon award.<\/p>\n<p>Crafted by Iasia Merriweather, this towering look is a paragon of precision. The hair at the crown and sides is meticulously slicked back, not a flyaway in sight, creating a sleek foundation that lets the intricate braiding take center stage. From that glossy start emerges an elaborate, colossal bun composed of braids in varying widths\u2014from pencil-thin plaits woven around the base to chunkier folds making up the lion\u2019s share of the height-enhancing sculpture. It caught the light with a mirror-like sheen, making the entire updo look almost lacquered.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-iJvQnD cOWUYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-fnduJP iaVSwI asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-kFnjvc eKnjjD responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-gaAbQ hXaxHA asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><picture class=\"ResponsiveImagePicture-jKunQM gjCCFj AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-gaAbQ hXaxHA asset-embed__responsive-asset responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Queen Latifah smiling in a textured black coat\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-dkeESL cQPiWi responsive-image__image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.allure.com\/photos\/6a4287abb51132b901d9c45f\/master\/w_120,c_limit\/queen%20latifah%20bet%20awards%20updo.jpg 120w, https:\/\/media.allure.com\/photos\/6a4287abb51132b901d9c45f\/master\/w_240,c_limit\/queen%20latifah%20bet%20awards%20updo.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.allure.com\/photos\/6a4287abb51132b901d9c45f\/master\/w_320,c_limit\/queen%20latifah%20bet%20awards%20updo.jpg 320w, https:\/\/media.allure.com\/photos\/6a4287abb51132b901d9c45f\/master\/w_640,c_limit\/queen%20latifah%20bet%20awards%20updo.jpg 640w, https:\/\/media.allure.com\/photos\/6a4287abb51132b901d9c45f\/master\/w_960,c_limit\/queen%20latifah%20bet%20awards%20updo.jpg 960w, https:\/\/media.allure.com\/photos\/6a4287abb51132b901d9c45f\/master\/w_1280,c_limit\/queen%20latifah%20bet%20awards%20updo.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/media.allure.com\/photos\/6a4287abb51132b901d9c45f\/master\/w_1600,c_limit\/queen%20latifah%20bet%20awards%20updo.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"100vw\" src=\"https:\/\/media.allure.com\/photos\/6a4287abb51132b901d9c45f\/master\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/queen%2520latifah%2520bet%2520awards%2520updo.jpg\"\/><\/picture><\/span><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"BaseText-fEwdHD CaptionCredit-cUgOGk foWpck hRFzlA caption__credit\">Photo: Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The dramatic hairstyle topped off a black Kilian Kerner gown draped in an oversized, textured coat with exaggerated balloon sleeves and an equally puffy shawl collar. Lush lashes and berry-red lipstick made for the ideal bold-yet-minimal makeup look to balance the exaggerated elements of the look.<\/p>\n<p>The previous Lifetime Achievement Award winner changed into an equally theatrical performance look for an all-star tribute honoring Lauryn Hill. She took the stage in a paneled, patchwork robe with dramatic crimson puffed sleeves that framed her shoulders like couture clouds. Her braided updo remained intact, but she gave it an entirely new personality by adding a dazzling diamond visor-like headpiece. The creative take on a tiara was joined by an Archive Gold Link Collar and Archive Molten Cuffs by\u00a0Alexis Bittar.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"AssetEmbedWrapper-iJvQnD cOWUYC asset-embed\">\n<div class=\"AssetEmbedAssetContainer-fnduJP iaVSwI asset-embed__asset-container\"><span class=\"SpanWrapper-kFnjvc eKnjjD responsive-asset AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-gaAbQ hXaxHA asset-embed__responsive-asset\"><picture class=\"ResponsiveImagePicture-jKunQM gjCCFj AssetEmbedResponsiveAsset-gaAbQ hXaxHA asset-embed__responsive-asset responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Queen Latifah performing in a red puffy robe and tiara\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-dkeESL cQPiWi responsive-image__image\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.allure.com\/photos\/6a4287d741aa7be7f12bbdea\/master\/w_120,c_limit\/queen%20latifah%20bet%20awards%20braided%20updo.jpg 120w, https:\/\/media.allure.com\/photos\/6a4287d741aa7be7f12bbdea\/master\/w_240,c_limit\/queen%20latifah%20bet%20awards%20braided%20updo.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.allure.com\/photos\/6a4287d741aa7be7f12bbdea\/master\/w_320,c_limit\/queen%20latifah%20bet%20awards%20braided%20updo.jpg 320w, https:\/\/media.allure.com\/photos\/6a4287d741aa7be7f12bbdea\/master\/w_640,c_limit\/queen%20latifah%20bet%20awards%20braided%20updo.jpg 640w, https:\/\/media.allure.com\/photos\/6a4287d741aa7be7f12bbdea\/master\/w_960,c_limit\/queen%20latifah%20bet%20awards%20braided%20updo.jpg 960w, https:\/\/media.allure.com\/photos\/6a4287d741aa7be7f12bbdea\/master\/w_1280,c_limit\/queen%20latifah%20bet%20awards%20braided%20updo.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/media.allure.com\/photos\/6a4287d741aa7be7f12bbdea\/master\/w_1600,c_limit\/queen%20latifah%20bet%20awards%20braided%20updo.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"100vw\" src=\"https:\/\/media.allure.com\/photos\/6a4287d741aa7be7f12bbdea\/master\/w_1600%2Cc_limit\/queen%2520latifah%2520bet%2520awards%2520braided%2520updo.jpg\"\/><\/picture><\/span><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"BaseText-fEwdHD CaptionCredit-cUgOGk foWpck hRFzlA caption__credit\">Photo: Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There was no shortage of stunning (understatement) looks at the BET Awards, but it leave it to someone who\u2019s been attending the event for over 20 years to really show us how it\u2019s done. Queen Latifah looked like an absolute work of art at the ceremony celebrating Black brilliance in entertainment, arriving in a voluminous [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beauty"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasgai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasgai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasgai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasgai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasgai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sasgai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasgai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sasgai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasgai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sasgai.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}