Lizzo to Star as Rock Pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe in First Leading Film Role

Lizzo is stepping into the spotlight in a whole new way—this time, on the big screen. The four-time Grammy-winning artist will make her first leading film debut portraying Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the trailblazing guitarist known as the Godmother of Rock ‘n’ Roll, in the upcoming Amazon MGM Studios biopic, Rosetta.

According to Deadline, the film will chronicle the life of Tharpe, a visionary Arkansas-born musician whose genre-blending mastery of gospel, blues, and rock ‘n’ roll shaped the sound of modern music. Her influence echoes through the work of legends like Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Little Richard.

Though she passed away in 1973 at age 58, Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s legacy continues to grow. Her iconic recording “Down by the Riverside” was added to the National Recording Registry in 2004, and she was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

Lizzo shared the news with her fans on Instagram Monday (March 24), writing simply, “Black people made rock n roll.” The announcement comes just days after Lizzo posted on X (formerly Twitter) about the erasure and mistreatment of Black women in music, stating she’s “reclaiming rock n roll for US…”

While Lizzo has made memorable cameos in Hustlers, The Simpsons, and The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, Rosetta will mark her first time in a leading film role.

The music icon is also gearing up to release her next studio album, Love In Real Life, featuring singles “Still Bad” and the title track.