Billie Eilish To Make Her Feature Acting Debut in ‘The Bell Jar’
The GRAMMY winner will take the lead in a new adaptation of Sylvia Plath’s 1963 novel.
Summary
- Billie Eilish is in advanced talks to star as Esther Greenwood in a new film adaptation of Sylvia Plath’s 1963 novel
- Oscar-winning filmmaker Sarah Polley is set to adapt the screenplay and direct the upcoming psychological drama
Billie Eilish is officially set to make her feature acting debut in Focus Features’s The Bell Jar, a new film adaptation of Sylvia Plath’s 1963 novel. The GRAMMY winner is stepping in front of the camera to take on the complex lead role of Esther Greenwood, guided by Academy Award-winning director Sarah Polley.
Following her acclaimed guest role in the Prime Video series Swarm, Eilish is expanding her Hollywood footprint by tackling one of literature’s most challenging protagonists. The novel chronicles a young woman’s descent into mental illness while navigating the stifling societal pressures placed upon women in the 1950s. The Bell Jar paralleled many of Plath’s own experiences in her personal life and mental health, with the novel getting published under her Victoria Lucas pseudonym just a month before the author died by suicide.
Polley, who secured an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for Women Talking, is writing and directing the adaptation. The project was initially packaged by producer Joy Gorman Wettels before bringing production powerhouses Plan B Entertainment and StudioCanal into the fold. According to Variety, while Eilish already holds two Academy Awards for her original music, there is no confirmation on whether she will contribute to the film’s soundtrack.
Stay tuned for an official trailer and release date.
