What character does Nicki Minaj voice in Ice Age? All about her role and plot of the movie 

While Nicki Minaj's talent as a rapper needs no introduction, the 41-year-old is also a skilled voiceover artist. Minaj debuted her voice acting career in 2012 when the rapper was cast in the family adventure film, Ice Age: Continental Drift. Released on July 13, 2012, it was the fourth installation of the Ice Age franchise.

Nicki Minaj is the voice of Steffie (short for Steffany), a supporting character in the animated movie. Steffie is a woolly mammoth who is Ethan's girlfriend - another mammoth voiced by Drake. Peaches (voiced by Keke Palmer) - Manny's daughter - happens to have a crush on Ethan and tries to fit in with their group of young mammoths in the movie, but is made fun of by Steffie.

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More about the plot and Nicki Minaj's character Steffie's appearance in Ice Age 4

The plot of Ice Age: Continental Drift revolves around how Manny, Diego, and Sid are parted from the rest of the herd due to a continental drift. They are left afloat on a piece of iceberg that they use as a makeshift ship. The trio is determined to find their way back home, but the journey isn't easy.

Before the drift, Manny gets into a heated argument with Peaches for hanging out with a group of young mammoths, the Brat Pack, despite her father's disapproval. The pack involves Steffie and Ethan among other mammoths. While Peaches has a crush on Ethan, Steffie is his girlfriend.

On their adventure after the drift, Manny and his friends are captured by a gang of ruthless pirates led by Gutt, a giant ape. After Manny refuses Gutt's offer to leave his family life behind and join the pirates, the ape takes offense and forces them to walk the plank, when the trio manages to escape.

They're also joined by Shira, a saber-tooth tiger from the gang of pirates who was left behind. While Shira initially attempts to rejoin the pirates, she realizes her mistake after being reprimanded by Gutt for not attacking Manny and his friends when she had the opportunity.

By joining hands with the hyraxes on the island, Manny and his friends manage to take over Gutt's new ship and start to sail back home, joined by Shira. Soon after, romance blossoms between Diego and Shira. The movie ends as Manny reconciles with his family and the herd finds a new home to settle down in.

A little before Ice Age 4's release in July 2012, Nicki Minaj discussed her character in the animated movie on the Flicks and Bits podcast, saying:

"Well, [my character] Steffie, she's a cutesy little ladybug, and of course, I call everyone ladybugs if I really love them. But of course, she's not a ladybug, she's huge, but she's so beautiful."

The Truffle Butter rapper continued:

"She's a mammoth, she has blonde hair and she does really cute stuff with her hair. She does her lashes, she does stuff with mascara. And, you know, she's cutesy! I think she's great."

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Nicki Minaj calls the opportunity of working in an Ice Age movie "an honor"

Elsewhere in the podcast, Nicki Minaj spoke about how ecstatic she was to be part of the Ice Age movie. She added:

"I just think it's a blessing and an honor. And seriously, I can't believe I'm in an Ice Age movie. My nieces and my little brothers, they're freaking out. They think I'm making it up. They won't believe it until the movie comes out that I'm doing a voice in Ice Age 4."

Nicki Minaj then expressed her adoration of Queen Latifah, a rapper and singer who was also among the voice cast members of the Ice Age movies. Revealing that she looked up to Queen Latifah for years, Nicki Minaj shared that the 54-year-old icon embodied everything she'd like to do. She added:

"To be a part of something she's a part of makes me very proud. Just working in that environment, the people in the movie were dope people. Everyone was so encouraging. When I was working on it I was like, 'This is the best job in the world!'"

Queen Latifah lent her voice to Ellie, the woolly mammoth who was Manny's wife and Peaches' mother. Other characters voiced by celebrity artists include:

• Ray Romano as Manny
• John Leguizamo as Sid
• Denis Leary as Diego
• Seann William Scott as Crash
• Josh Peck as Eddie
• Jennifer Lopez as Shira
• Wanda Sykes as Granny
• Keke Palmer as Peaches
• Drake as Ethan
• Nick Frost as Flynn

Ice Age: Continental Drift was followed by a sixth installment in the series two years later - Ice Age: Collision Course. Since the release of Ice Age Adventures of the Buck Wild in 2022, there has been no announcement of any new development of the next film in this franchise.