92 articles
Respect (2021 film)
Respect is a 2021 American biographical drama about singer Aretha Franklin, directed by Liesl Tommy in her feature debut and starring Jennifer Hudson, tracing Franklin's rise from Detroit to superstardom.
Rocketman (film)
Rocketman (2019) is a musical fantasy biopic of Elton John, directed by Dexter Fletcher, written by Lee Hall, and starring Taron Egerton; produced by Marv Films and Rocket Pictures for Paramount, it uses John's songs as fantasy musical numbers rather than strict biography.
Sanju
Sanju is a 2018 Hindi biographical drama directed by Rajkumar Hirani, with Ranbir Kapoor starring as Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt amid addiction and legal troubles.
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll is a 2010 British biopic of Ian Dury, directed by Mat Whitecross, written by Paul Viragh, starring Andy Serkis, who sings with the Blockheads; premiered at Tribeca 2010. Also a 2015 FX series with Denis Leary.
Shakuntala Devi (शकुंतला देवी) (film)
Shakuntala Devi (शकुंतला देवी), 2020 Hindi biographical comedy-drama directed by Anu Menon, starring Vidya Balan as the Human Computer; released 31 July 2020 on Amazon Prime Video, told through daughter Anupama Banerji's eyes.
Sid and Nancy
Sid and Nancy: 1986 British biopic by Alex Cox (with Abbe Wool) starring Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb as Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen; Roger Deakins shot it, Joe Strummer scored it.
Star!
Star! is a 1968 American musical biography film directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews as Gertrude Lawrence, one of the era's most expensive box-office failures.
Straight Outta Compton (film)
Straight Outta Compton (2015) is F. Gary Gray's Universal biographical drama about N.W.A, starring O'Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, and Jason Mitchell; it opened No. 1 with $56.1 million and grossed $201.6 million worldwide.
Surviving Picasso
Surviving Picasso is a 1996 Merchant Ivory biographical drama directed by James Ivory, starring Anthony Hopkins as Pablo Picasso and Natascha McElhone as Françoise Gilot, covering 1943–1953; the Picasso estate banned use of his real artworks.
Sweet Dreams (1985 film)
Sweet Dreams (1985) is a biographical drama directed by Karel Reisz, starring Jessica Lange as country singer Patsy Cline and Ed Harris as Charlie Dick, released by TriStar, grossing $9.1 million.
The Buddy Holly Story
The Buddy Holly Story is a 1978 Columbia biographical drama directed by Steve Rash, starring Gary Busey as Buddy Holly. Busey sang live and earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination; Joe Renzetti won for adapted score.
The Dancer (2016 film)
The Dancer (La Danseuse) is Stéphanie Di Giusto's 2016 debut biographical drama, screened in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, with Soko as modern-dance pioneer Loïe Fuller and Lily-Rose Depp as rival Isadora Duncan.
The Dirt (film)
The Dirt (2019) is a Netflix biographical comedy-drama directed by Jeff Tremaine about Mötley Crüe, based on the band's 2001 autobiography with Neil Strauss, starring Douglas Booth, Machine Gun Kelly, Iwan Rheon, and Daniel Webber.
The Doors (film)
The Doors is a 1991 American biographical drama directed by Oliver Stone, starring Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison, tracing the band from 1965 to Morrison's death in 1971.
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain is a 2021 British biographical drama directed by Will Sharpe, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as cat artist Louis Wain and Claire Foy as Emily Richardson; released by Amazon Studios, 68% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021 film)
The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021) is a Michael Showalter biopic starring Jessica Chastain as televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker and Andrew Garfield as Jim Bakker, adapted from the 2000 RuPaul-narrated documentary; Chastain won the Best Actress Oscar.
The Glenn Miller Story
The Glenn Miller Story (1954) is a Universal-International biographical musical directed by Anthony Mann, starring James Stewart as bandleader Glenn Miller and June Allyson as Helen Burger, with Louis Armstrong and Gene Krupa as themselves; a Technicolor box-office hit that earned Oscar nominations and a Best Sound win.
The Great Caruso
The Great Caruso is a 1951 MGM Technicolor musical biopic of tenor Enrico Caruso, starring Mario Lanza, Ann Blyth, and Dorothy Kirsten, directed by Richard Thorpe, an Oscar-winning 1951 box-office hit later successfully sued by Caruso's heirs.
The Great Ziegfeld
The Great Ziegfeld (1936) is MGM's Best Picture-winning musical biopic of Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., directed by Robert Z. Leonard, starring William Powell, Luise Rainer, and Myrna Loy, famous for its 'A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody' number.
The Jolson Story
The Jolson Story (1946) is a Columbia Pictures biographical musical about Al Jolson, starring Larry Parks with Jolson singing the soundtrack; it won two Oscars and spawned Jolson Sings Again.
The Music Lovers
The Music Lovers is Ken Russell's 1971 United Artists biopic of Tchaikovsky, starring Richard Chamberlain and Glenda Jackson, scripted by Melvyn Bragg from Beloved Friend, told through opulent musical sequences covering 1875–1881.
The Puppetmaster (戏梦人生)
The Puppetmaster (戲夢人生, Hsimeng Rensheng) is Hou Hsiao-hsien's 1993 Taiwanese biographical film about puppeteer Li Tien-lu, covering 1909–1945 Japanese-ruled Taiwan; first of his history trilogy, Cannes Jury Prize winner.
The Soloist
The Soloist is a 2009 American biographical drama film directed by Joe Wright, starring Jamie Foxx as homeless musician Nathaniel Ayers and Robert Downey Jr. as columnist Steve Lopez.
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939) is an RKO biographical musical directed by H. C. Potter, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers as the real ballroom dance team; their ninth and final RKO film, based on Irene Castle's memoirs, ending with Vernon's death.
The White Crow
The White Crow is a 2018 biographical drama film directed by Ralph Fiennes, following Rudolf Nureyev's early life and ending with his defection to the West in 1961.
Walk the Line
Walk the Line (2005) is James Mangold's Johnny Cash biopic, also called the Johnny Cash June Carter film, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Oscar-winning Reese Witherspoon, based on Cash's autobiographies and released by 20th Century Fox.
Waltzes from Vienna
Waltzes from Vienna, also released as Strauss' Great Waltz, is Alfred Hitchcock's 1934 Gaumont-British musical comedy, his only musical, a fictional account of Johann Strauss II composing The Blue Danube, based on the 1930 operetta Walzer aus Wien.
Waste Land
Waste Land (Lixo Extraordinário) is a 2010 UK-Brazil documentary by Lucy Walker, João Jardim, and Karen Harley following artist Vik Muniz creating portraits with catadores at Rio's Jardim Gramacho landfill; Sundance and Berlinale audience award winner, 2011 Oscar nominee.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is a 2022 Roku Channel biopic parody of "Weird Al" Yankovic, starring Daniel Radcliffe, directed by Eric Appel, Emmy-winning for Outstanding Television Movie.
What's Love Got to Do with It (1993 film)
What's Love Got to Do with It is a 1993 American biographical drama directed by Brian Gibson, starring Angela Bassett as Tina Turner and Laurence Fishburne as Ike Turner.