Queen Latifah will play Bessie Smith in HBO Biopic

I am excited to announce that Queen Latifah will be playing Bessie Smith in a new HBO biopic. According to Hollywood Reporter:

The telepic revolves around iconic blues singer Smith as she overcomes the challenges of her tempestuous personal life to become one of the most acclaimed performers and recording artists of the 1920s and ’30s, to be known forevermore as the “Empress of the Blues.” The film is based on Smith’s life story and Bessie, author Chris Albertson’s biography of the iconic singer.

Here’s an image of Bessie Smith.

Queen Latifah will be the host, star, and executive producer of the biopic. Latifah has been on a roll lately, creating her own talkshow called The Queen Latifah Show as well as starring in Lifetime’s Steel Magnolias reboot.

I have always  been a fan of Queen Latifah. I think she has such a warm, inviting spirit and she’s extremely talented in almost every space she enters. Personally, I absolutely loved her as Khadijah in Living Single, as well as August Boatwright in A Secret Life of Bees which is still one of my favorite films, despite the fact that Dakota Fanning’s performance was disappointing.

A still from the film “Secret Life of Bees.” Latifah is to the left.

I already discussed how Keke Palmer will be getting her own show on BET in another post, and I’m super excited that another black woman with talent like Queen Latifah will be starring in and producing a biopic about another fabulous black woman. These are exciting times!