The rise of Aretha Franklin’s career from a child singing in her father’s church’s choir to her international superstardom.
Acting
Hudson spent years preparing; Franklin herself approved before dying.
Direction
Liesl Tommy's stage roots make every musical number electric.
Sound
Hudson sings live on camera — no lip-syncing, no shortcuts.
Director
Liesl Tommy
Jennifer Hudson
Aretha Franklin
Forest Whitaker
C. L. Franklin
Marlon Wayans
Ted White
Audra McDonald
Barbara Franklin
Mary J. Blige
Dinah Washington
Marc Maron
Jerry Wexler
Tituss Burgess
Reverend Dr. James Cleveland
Saycon Sengbloh
Erma Franklin
Hailey Kilgore
Carolyn Franklin
Tate Donovan
John Hammond
Skye Dakota Turner
Aretha Franklin (young)
Heather Headley
Clara Ward
Leroy McClain
Cecil Franklin
Lodric D. Collins
Smokey Robinson
Brenda Nicole Moorer
Brenda Franklin
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Aretha Franklin personally selected Jennifer Hudson for the role in 2015, calling her 'my choice' in private conversations before her death.
The film's release coincided with a post-2020 reckoning about Black women's unpaid labor in the music industry — making Aretha's fight for her masters feel urgently contemporary.
US
