Zendaya has been cast in Be My Baby for A24 with direction from Barry Jenkins. According to Deadline, the California native has been attached to star in the film as Ronnie Spector since 2020, but Barry Jenkins has recently signed on to lend his eye to the project. Spector, who died in 2022, had hand-picked the Golden Globe award-winner to star as her in the film.
Be My Baby is set to be a biographical drama about Spector, detailing the rise of the 1960s music icon and is adapted from the 1990 memoir, Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness, or, My Life as a Fabulous Ronette. Deadline reports details that the film’s focus will highlight Ronnie and her tumultuous relationship with the disgraced producer, Phil Spector—who was notorious for sabotaging Ronnie’s career and forbidding her from performing.
American singer Ronnie Spector, formerly lead singer of the Ronettes, UK, 28th April 1971.
Kay/Daily Express/Getty Images
Spector, born Veronica Bennett, rose to fame in the 1960s as the leader of the girl group the Ronettes, known for hits such as “Be My Baby,” “Baby I Love You,” and “Walking in the Rain.” As the subtitle of her memoir suggests, she often rocked a beehive hairdo, cat-eyed mascara, and tight-fitting outfits.
Ronnie Spector was born Veronica Bennett and became the de facto leader of the Ronettes, a girl group formed by Phil Spector. Be My Baby is currently in development and will feature Dave Kajganich as the writer, who is working closely with Z and Jenkins to adapt a fully cohesive vision of Spector’s life.
Jenkins has been hard at work with the director recently working with Disney on Mufasa. The film became the sixth highest-grossing film of 2024, which propelled them past Dune Part Two.
There has been no release date for Be My Baby at this time.