Pop singer Halsey has signed a deal with Sony Pictures to develop and star in a film loosely based on her life, Deadline reports. According to Deadline’s anonymous sources, the pitch is to create “a vehicle that does for her what 8 Mile did for Eminem.” It would be Halsey’s first major acting role—though, of course, she’d be appearing as herself.
If Halsey hasn’t quite reached the level of name recognition or celebrity provocateur-dom Eminem enjoyed in 20o2, that’s probably to be expected: Eminem had four studio albums by the time 8 Mile came out, while Halsey has only two, her 2015 debut Badlands and last year’s follow-up, Hopeless Fountain Kingdom. But the music industry moves faster than it did 15 years ago, and songs like “Bad at Love” and “Him & I” (with celeb boyfriend G-Eazy) have proven some staying power beyond her mainstream breakout appearance on the Chainsmokers‘ 2016 megahit “Closer.”
As for what might actually happen in a Halsey biopic: The singer, born Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, is originally from New Jersey, and she’s described spending her teen years broke and couchsurfing while developing a Tumblr following and eventually uploading original music online. Her rise has been marked by frequent public discussion of her biracial and bisexual identities—”I look like a white girl, but I don’t feel like one. I’m a black woman,” she told Playboy last year—as well as outspoken remarks on personal health issues including bipolar disorder and endometriosis. Recently, she’s also become something of a political activist, speaking about her experience of sexual assault at the 2018 Women’s March.
There’s no timeline for a film release yet—but if things keep going the way they’ve been, Halsey might be significantly more famous by the time any biopic does come out.
