As reported by Popeater.com, the film will chronicle the Jackson’s life from her poverty-stricken childhood in New Orleans to her rise to fame as one of gospel’s first superstars. The biopic will also cover her time as a civil rights advocate and supporter of Martin Luther King Jr.
This will mark Barrino’s first return to film since she first starred in the Lifetime TV film adaptation of her autobiography “My Life Is Not a Fairytale” in 2006.
That same year, Barrino, 26, showed her acting chops on the Broadway stage, starring as Celie in Oprah’s landmark production of The Color Purple.
Barrino, who’s no novice to the ups and downs of superstardom, has a wellspring of personal experience to pull from when playing Jackson.
Over the years, Barrino has dealt with career damaging family issues on screen on her VH1 reality show, “Fantasia for Real,” and financial issues that left her on Oprah’s couch confessing that at one time she couldn’t even afford a box of pizza.
Just last year, the singer was caught in an intense media scandal surrounding her affair with a married man, Antwuan Cook, that resulted in a suicide attempt by the singer.
Do you think Fantasia has what it takes to play Mahalia Jackson? –nicholas robinson
