Lizzo to play rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe in upcoming biopic

Lizzo has been tapped to portray rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe in an upcoming biopic – find out more below.

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Deadline Hollywood has reported that Amazon MGM Studios is developing Rosetta, an upcoming biopic based on the life and career of the legendary Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a gospel musician who broke boundaries and paved the way for rock ‘n’ roll music.

Rosetta has yet to receive a release date, and a director has not been announced to helm the film. However, it has been revealed by Deadline that among the biopic’s producers are actor Forest Whitaker and Lizzo herself.

Per Deadline, Rosetta will “capture a pivotal period in Thrape’s life — one of groundbreaking innovation, defiant passion and secret love. As she shatters musical boundaries with her signature guitar sound, she must navigate societal constraints, conceal her love for another woman and ultimately transform a wedding into one of the most legendary concerts in history: the first stadium show.”

Sister Rosetta Tharpe performs in 1957. Credit: Chris Ware/Keystone Features/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Sister Rosetta Tharpe influenced the who’s who of rock ‘n’ roll music, including the likes of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan to name a few.

Though this will be the first film made about Tharpe, it won’t mark the first time she’s been featured in movies. Back in 2022, she was portrayed by British musician Yola in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame back in 2018 in the Early Influences category with Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard, Questlove and more performing a cover of ‘That’s All’ in her honour.

As for Lizzo, she’s had two film roles to date. In 2019, she voiced the role of Lydia in the animated film UglyDolls before making her acting debut that same year in Hustlers.

Lizzo recently revealed that her new album ‘Love In Real Life’ is “finished” and she is set to perform on Saturday Night Live. It comes after she previously released the LP’s title track as the lead single last month, and has since gone on to drop the unapologetic song ‘Still Bad’. The album has yet to receive a release date.

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