She might be considered hip-hop royalty, but when it comes to Hollywood, Queen Bey/Sasha Fierce has to compete just like everyone else. For the role of Disney’s first black princess, Beyoncé refused to audition. Alicia Keys auditioned three times but didn’t get the part. Tyra Banks brought in a CD, but it didn’t matter. For the role of Princess Tiana in the animated film The Princess and the Frog, the contender had to be able to sing.
It was Beyoncé’s Dreamgirls co-star, Anika Noni Rose, who had everything casting director Jen Rudin was looking for. “Beyoncé expected an offer, but wouldn’t audition and so she didn’t get one,” she says in her autobiography titled, Confessions of a Casting Director.
Surprisingly, another Dreamgirls breakout star wanted in, as did America’s top model, “Tyra Banks, Jennifer Hudson wanted it.
“It went to Anika Noni Rose, who was the most qualified,” she reveals.
