Who portrayed Aretha Franklin in the 2021 film 'Respect'?

Jennifer Hudson portrayed Aretha Franklin in the 2021 film Respect. Hudson both acted in the role and performed many of Franklin's songs for the musical biopic, which follows Franklin's early life, family experiences, rise to fame, and recording career.

Respect was directed by Liesl Tommy and written by Tracey Scott Wilson and Callie Khouri. The story covers roughly the first three decades of Franklin's life and concludes around the creation of her acclaimed gospel album Amazing Grace. Franklin herself had wanted Hudson for the part and was involved in the film's development before her death in 2018.

Hudson was a particularly fitting choice because she is an accomplished singer and actress. She had already won an Academy Award for Dreamgirls and had performed on Broadway in The Color Purple, a production that helped convince Franklin she could carry the role. A common mix-up is confusing Hudson with Mary J. Blige, who appears in the film as singer Dinah Washington, or with Audra McDonald, who plays Franklin's mother, Barbara.