Selena Gomez to play Grammy winning country singer Linda Ronstadt in new biopic

Selena Gomez will play folk rock pioneer Linda Ronstadt in her upcoming biopic, confirmed by Rolling Stone. The former Disney Channel star hinted at the casting news by posting a picture of herself reading Ronstadt's 2013 memoir, Simple Dreams. A day later, Ronstadt confirmed the news on her Instagram handle. 

What do we know about the yet-to-be-titled Linda Ronstadt biopic? 

Gomez will portray the eleven-time Grammy winner in a film project being developed by producers John Boylan, the manager of Ronstadt, and James Keach. The movie still lacks a distributor and a director, among other cast members that have not yet been revealed.

Ronstadt's official Facebook and Instagram accounts made the announcement of Gomez starring in the biopic on Wednesday, January 10. The words "It all started with a simple dream" were added to a news piece about the movie uploaded on their social media handles. 

Both Ronstadt and Gomez are of Mexican heritage, and a statement on Boylan's Great Eastern Music website states that the two previously met at the former's home to discuss the idea.

Linda Ronstadt’s career trajectory 

Legendary in the fields of country, rock 'n' roll, and Latin music, Ronstadt's albums Heart Like a Wheel and Simple Dreams from the 1970s achieved both critical and commercial acclaim, demonstrating her flexibility in a variety of musical genres. Eleven Grammy Awards have been hers during her career, and she has received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Latin Recording Academy and the Recording Academy.

In 2012, Ronstadt announced her retirement from singing due to her diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. Three years earlier, at San Antonio's Municipal Auditorium, she gave her last performance. She sold Irving Azoff's Iconic Artists Group her catalog in 2021.