Fantasia Barrino just landed the lead role in a biopic about late gospel singer Mahalia Jackson!

The multi-talented performer will play Mahalia Jackson in a feature-film adaptation of the 1993 book “Got to Tell It: Mahalia Jackson, Queen of Gospel,” which will recount the life of the singer, who was also a civil rights activist and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Fantasia will portray Jackson’s journey from poverty in New Orleans to her rise as a gospel superstar and early supporter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Mahalia Jackson passed away in 1972 at the age of 60.

This marks Barrino’s first feature-film lead role since she played Celie in the broadway version of “The Color Purple.” The 26-year-old “American Idol” winner also played herself in the 2006 Lifetime biopic “Life is Not a Fairy Tale: The Fantasia Barrino Story,” which was based on an autobiography she released just 1 year prior.

The new Mahalia Jackson biopic is scheduled to go into production in April in Pittsburgh and Chicago and is being prepped for a December release.

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