Zendaya to play Ronnie Spector in new biopic from ‘Moonlight’ director Barry Jenkins

Ronnie Spector hand-picked Zendaya for the role before her death in 2022.

Mar 26, 2025 - 22:20

Zendaya to play Ronnie Spector in new biopic from ‘Moonlight’ director Barry Jenkins

Zendaya is set to star as Ronnie Spector in a new biopic about the Ronettes singer from filmmaker Barry Jenkins (Moonlight). The film is titled Be My Baby and is based on the memoir Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness, or, My Life as a Fabulous Ronette by Spector and co-writer Vince Waldron. Variety reports that Ronnie hand-picked Zendaya for the role before her death in 2022 (she was an original producer on the film).

The screenplay for Be My Baby will be written by Dave Kajganich (Suspiria, Bones and All) and Zendaya is one of the film’s producers. No word on when we can expect the film, as both Zendaya and Jenkins have other movies already in the pipeline.

Ronnie Spector’s life story does not lack for drama, from her early days in The Ronettes to her marriage to producer Phil Spector, who, according to her memoir, all but kept her prisoner in their home. She survived the marriage — they divorced in 1974 — as well as alcoholism, and mounted a comeback in the late-’70s and early-’80s, scoring a hit with Eddie Money on the 1986 single “Take Me Home Tonight.” Spector continued to perform up until her death, which followed not long after being diagnosed with cancer.