Lizzo is picking up a guitar—and stepping into the legacy of one of music’s greatest, yet often overlooked, pioneers. The four-time GRAMMY winner will portray gospel icon and rock trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe in Rosetta, a biopic currently in development at Amazon MGM Studios.
Let’s be real: without Sister Rosetta Tharpe, there’d probably be no rock ‘n’ roll as we know it.
Known as the Godmother of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Tharpe was strumming electric guitar, belting gospel with grit, and captivating audiences long before Elvis ever shook a hip. Her sound laid the groundwork for generations of artists—including Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Johnny Cash, and so many others—yet her name still doesn’t ring bells the way it should. Rosetta is about to change that.
The script comes from Natalie Chaidez (Queen of the South, The Flight Attendant) and Kwynn Perry (Tigerbelles, The Burned Photo), and will spotlight a pivotal chapter in Tharpe’s life—one fueled by groundbreaking innovation, fearless passion, and a love she had to keep in the shadows. A true rebel with a rhythm, Tharpe was a pioneer in guitar technique—among the first popular artists to use heavy distortion on her electric guitar, paving the way for the rise of electric blues. Her signature sound didn’t just shake church pews—it rippled across the globe. Her 1964 European tour with Muddy Waters, including a now-legendary stop in Manchester, left an indelible mark on a generation of British guitar gods like Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Keith Richards. And in a moment that can only be described as peak Rosetta, she turned her 1951 wedding into a full-blown stadium concert—decades before that was even a thing.
The film is being produced by Lizzo herself, along with Kevin Beisler and Significant Productions’ Nina Yang Bongiovi and Forest Whitaker.
Casting Lizzo in this role? It just fits. She’s not only a powerhouse vocalist and performer, but her entire brand is about breaking boundaries—just like Rosetta did. The Emmy winner and cultural icon has already made major waves in music, TV, and fashion. From her 9x Platinum hit “Truth Hurts” to her Emmy-nominated HBO concert special and inclusive shapewear line Yitty, Lizzo’s impact stretches far beyond the charts. She’s also set to release her fifth album this year, led by the singles “Still Bad” and “Love In Real Life.”
Behind the scenes, Significant Productions continues doing what they do best: championing bold stories and underrepresented voices. Bongiovi and Whitaker have backed projects like Fruitvale Station, Dope, Sorry to Bother You, and Passing, and are also behind Godfather of Harlem and MGM+’s Hollywood Black. So Rosetta is in good hands, on all fronts.
With Lizzo leading and a team committed to telling this story right, Rosetta is shaping up to be more than a biopic—it’s a reclamation. A celebration of the woman who rocked the world before the world even knew what rock was.