Skip to content
MovieCove
Chaka Khan

Chaka Khan

Actor · Born March 23, 1953 (73) · Chicago, Illinois, USA

Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (/ˈʃɑːkə ˈkɑːn/ SHAH-kə KAHN), is an American singer and songwriter. Known as the "Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. With the band she recorded the notable hits "Tell Me Something Good," "Sweet Thing," "Do You Love What You Feel," and the platinum-certified "Ain't Nobody." Her debut solo album featured the number-one R&B hit "I'm Every Woman" (which became a pop hit for Whitney Houston). Khan scored another R&B charts hit with "What Cha' Gonna Do for Me" before becoming the first R&B artist to have a crossover hit featuring a rapper, with her 1984 cover of Prince's "I Feel for You." More of Khan's hits include "Through the Fire" and a 1986 collaboration with Steve Winwood that produced a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, "Higher Love." Khan has won ten Grammy Awards.With Rufus, she achieved three gold singles, one platinum single, four gold albums, and two platinum albums. In the course of her solo career, Khan achieved three gold singles, three gold albums, and one platinum album with I Feel for You. She has also worked with Whitney Houston, Ry Cooder, Robert Palmer, Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Guru, Chicago, Joni Mitchell, Gladys Knight, De La Soul, Mary J. Blige, Ariana Grande, and Sia. In December 2016, Billboard magazine ranked her as the 65th most successful dance club artist of all time. She was ranked at No. 17 in VH1's original list of the 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll. Khan has been nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times as a solo artist and four times as a member of Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, the first time in 2012 as a member of Rufus. In 2023, Khan was picked as an inductee in the Musical Excellence category. Description above from the Wikipedia article Chaka Khan, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

Born
March 23, 1953 (73)
From
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Works as
Actor
Titles
10 on MovieCove · 21 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Down 34% in 30 days

What are Chaka Khan's films like?

Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Ideas.

Themes

share of theme weight
Society
49%
Ideas
21%
Bonds
8%
Self
8%
Morality
8%
Survival
5%
Legacy4 titles, browse their movies with this themeArt4 titles, browse their movies with this themeFame2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 5 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 4 · Serious 1 · Dark 0

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 4 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 1 · Charged 4 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 3 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 3 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 5 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 4 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
5
Hopeful
3
Warm
3
Contemplative
2
Melancholic
1
Other
2

How their films linger

Hopeful4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy4
  • Bittersweet1
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Chaka Khan's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Chaka Khan's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

21 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page; 59 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • The One and Only Ivan(2020)

    as Henrietta (voice)

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Charlie's Angels(2019)

    Songs

    Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films

  • The Masked Singer(2019)

    Show 2 episodes · as Miss Monster · as Miss Monster (archive footage)

    Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all shows

  • Revival! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    as Herodias

  • Empire(2015)

    Show 1 episode · as Chaka Khan

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all shows

  • Beyond the Lights(2014)

    as Chaka Khan

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • Every Woman (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Composer

  • Prince: Club Nokia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    Actor

  • Phineas and Ferb(2007)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all shows

  • Chaka Khan: Greatest Hits Live (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    as Vocals

  • Celebrity Duets (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Show 9 episodes · Actor

  • Globehunters(2002)

    as Marla (voice)

    Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • The Jazz Channel Presents Chaka Khan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Actor

  • VH1 Divas (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • The Chris Rock Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • Star Search (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • New York Undercover(1994)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

    Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all shows

  • Miles Davis - Montreux Jazz Festival (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)

    Actor

  • Hunter(1984)

    Show 1 episode · as Miss Gina B

    Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all shows

  • Chaka Khan: Live At Roxy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)

    Actor

  • The Blues Brothers(1980)

    as Choir Soloist

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

Career shape

Star power in the 72nd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 21 titles from 1980 to 2020; peak year 2020.

Film career

19802020

Peak 2020 · steadily prominent in film for years. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting19 of 21: 19 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score67thMusic1 of 21: 1 only music, 0 with another roleOther crew1 of 21: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

1980s4 · acting1990s4 · acting2000s6 · acting2010s6 · 4 acting · 2 crew2020s1 · acting

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Chaka Khan's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 67th percentile, the median of all 5; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 74th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

74thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Approval · how many liked their films

66thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Reach · how many have seen their films

27thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Midcredits score across 10 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up4
  • 50th to 74th2
  • 25th to 49th1
  • Below 25th3

Shape of the crowd

5 of their 10 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Divisive1
  • Crowd Pleaser5
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · actor

Globehunters (2002)

87th percentile spread · 42% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

The Blues Brothers (1980)

Midcredits 97th · 86% liked

Reviewers score the acting 47/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 80, detractors 50. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Chaka Khan work with?

People who share at least 2 of Chaka Khan's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Brian Gersh shares the most, 2.

Producers