Jennifer Hudson will star as Aretha Franklin in an upcoming biopic

Franklin is said to have picked Hudson herself

Jennifer Hudson will star as Aretha Franklin in a forthcoming biopic.

The announcement was made by record producer Clive Davis during last night’s annual pre-Grammys party (Jan 27).

According to Deadline, Davis introduced Hudson ahead of her performance at the party, announcing to the audience that she’ll be depicting the legendary singer in the forthcoming film.

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Hudson previewed her performance by taking the stage to sing Franklin’s ‘Think’ and ‘Respect’. No further details of the film have been announced but it has reportedly been in development since 2011.

Hudson won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2007 for her role in Dreamgirls. She played Effie White, a character inspired by Supremes member Florence Ballard.

Franklin has had 77 songs in the US top 100, and as one of the best-selling artists, male or female, of all time, has sold more than 7m records. She’s also won a mammoth 18 Grammy Awards, and her life, from her humble beginnings in Memphis, Tennessee through megastardom and the health and personal problems that followed it, would certainly make for a fascinating movie.

Last summer, Aretha Franklin accused fellow soul legend Dionne Warwick of lying about her at Whitney Houston‘s funeral.

 

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Franklin claims that Warwick said she was in attendance at Houston’s funeral when she was not and that Warwick called her the late singer’s “godmother”. Houston’s actual godmother was Darlene Love.

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