Lizzo To Play Rock ‘N’ Roll Pioneer Rosetta Tharpe In ‘Rosetta’ For Amazon MGM Studios

(Deadline) -Four-time Grammy award winner Lizzo will be taking up the guitar to play Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the gospel singer who was one of the first to appeal to rock n’ roll and R&B audiences, in Amazon MGM Studios‘ Rosetta.

The project is currently in development with Lizzo, Kevin Beisler, Significant Productions’ Nina Yang Bongiovi and Forest Whitaker producing. Natalie Chaidez (The Flight Attendant, Queen of the South) and Kwynn Perry (Tigerbelles, The Burned Photo) are writing the screenplay.

Without Tharpe, there would be no rock n’ roll. Her influence on popular music spans decades and includes Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Johnny Cash, and countless others. Inspired by true events, the film 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.