Zendaya is set to star in and produce a biopic based on the life of late singer Ronnie Spector.
Backed by A24, which acquired the rights to Spector's story in 2022, Barry Jenkins (Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk) has signed on to direct the film. The original screenplay is being written by Dave Kajganich (Bones and All, Suspiria) based on Spector's 1990 memoir she wrote with Vince Waldron, Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness, Or, My Life as a Fabulous Ronette.
Deadline reports that Zendaya has long been attached to the biopic. The late singer (born Veronica Yvette Bennett) was originally an executive producer for the film and reportedly hand-picked the Dune and Spider-Man star to portray her.
Ronnie Spector's life story will certainly fit the big screen. She became a star in the early 1960s as the singer of The Ronettes, which she formed with her sister, Estelle Bennett and cousin, Nedra Talley. After signing to producer Phil Spector's Phillies label in 1963, the group had a string of hits including "Be My Baby," "Baby, I Love You," "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up" and "Walking in the Rain."
In 1968, Ronnie married Phil Spector, but the couple divorced in 1973. In her memoir, Ronnie accused her ex-husband of psychological torment and sabotaging her career, revealing that he threatened to kill her with a gun throughout their years of marriage.
She would later tell The Telegraph, that Phil bought a gold coffin with a glass top for their home, with which he would kill her and put her body on display if she ever left him. He allegedly prevented her from leaving their home by surrounding the house with barbed wire and guard dogs, as well as taking away her shoes. In 1972, Ronnie finally escaped barefoot and fled to her mother's home. In their divorce settlement, she forfeited all of her royalties and future earnings to Phil, claiming he had threatened to hire a hitman to kill her if she didn't.
Ronnie remarried in 1983 and gave birth to two sons. She made a comeback in 1986 when she appeared on Eddie Money's hit song "Take Me Home Tonight." On January 12, 2022, she passed away at the age of 78 after being diagnosed with cancer.