Missy Elliott will be coming to the big screen.
According to Deadline, Elliott has been cast at the Town Crier in the upcoming remake of the musical Cinderella. Elliott will star alongside Camila Cabello, James Corden, Billy Porter, Minnie Driver, Pierce Brosnan, Idina Menzel, and more.
Elliott, a five-time Grammy winner, has sold over 30 million records in the United States with hit singles like “Work It,” “Gossip Folks,” “Get Ur Freak On,” and “Lose Control.” According to Nielsen Music, Elliott is the best-selling female rap artist in history. She is the first female hip hop artist to receive an Honorary Doctorate degree from Berklee College of Music.
Elliott is also the first female rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. During the event, Elliott was given a 10-minute long tribute where Michelle Obama shared kind words before Elliott took the stage.
“Missy, I want to thank you for all of your trailblazing ways,” Obama said in a prerecorded video. “Thank you not for just sharing your gift with the world, but for being an advocate for so many people out there, especially young girls who are still figuring out how to make their voices heard.”
“I am thankful,” a visibly emotional Elliott told the room. “Every time I come up to a podium, even with all the work that I’ve done, I don’t know, and I’m assuming it’s just God, I don’t know why I am here. I want to say one thing to the writers, to the upcoming writers, ‘Do not give up.’ We all go through writer’s block. Sometimes you just have to walk away from a record and come back to it. But don’t give up because I’m standing here. And this is big for hip-hop, too.”
Cinderella will reportedly hit theaters in Feb. 2021.