You don’t get famous — really famous — without being multi-talented, and our favorite A-list celebrities have lots of tricks in their bags. There are plenty of actors who have proven they’ve also got serious pipes (looking at you, Nicole Kidman and Kristen Bell!), but what about the superstar singers who dream of seeing their name in the opening credits of a movie or a TV show — and maybe even (gasp) getting nominated for or winning an Emmy, an Oscar, or a Golden Globe award for acting?
Many have tried. Not so many have succeeded — and that makes the list below of talented singers who also moonlight as actors all the more exciting. Check out some serious crossover success stories like Lady Gaga (who nabbed a Critics Choice award for Best Actress in 2019 for her performance in A Star is Born), Mandy Moore, Jennifer Lopez, and Harry Styles… and keep your eyes and ears peeled for who will be next to make the singer/screen star leap.
Billie Eilish
Although she has an Academy Award already for her song “No Time to Die,” Billie Eilish made her long-awaited acting debut this year in Prime Video’s Swarm. In the show, Eilish plays a Eva, a seemingly warm but secretly dark cult leader.
Mary J. Blige
In addition to being an R&B powerhouse, Mary J. Blige has shown off her acting chops through the years. The “Family Affair” singer has appeared in a variety of famous TV shows, including Empire, Black-Ish, and The Umbrella Academy in smaller roles, and also shines as the series regular Monet in Power Book II: Ghost. Blige has also dipped her toes on the big screen in movies like Respect, Pink Skies Ahead, and Mudbound (which granted her a Supporting Actress Oscar nomination).
Lady Gaga
She took her stage name from a Queen song (“Radio Gaga”) and she’s proven that concert stages aren’t the only ones she’s destined to own. In the 4th iteration of A Star Is Born, Lady Gaga’s evocative performance as Ally Maine was so convincing that she was nominated for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Actress. She’s also starred in American Horror Story: Roanoke and American Horror Story: Hotel for which she won a Golden Globe. And it’s worth sharing, maybe as a reminder that we all start somewhere, that her first acting credit came in 2001 she was the “Girl at Swimming Pool” in an episode of The Sopranos.
Harry Styles
Tell your friends you’re going to audition for a singing competition show (X Factor) and they may well laugh at you. Turn up as a solo contestant, get eliminated, and then come back to win it as a part of a newly formed group — and become 1⁄5 of the biggest boy band of the 10’s and we’ll see who gets the last laugh. In the span of five years as a part of One Direction, Harry Styles was a key member of the juggernaut that released 5 albums, 17 singles (all of which were smash hits), and four world tours. When the group split, Harry came out with a killer self-titled solo album, cut his famous locks (to the equal horror and delight of fans), and jumped into acting as only a bonafide superstar could: in an epic Christopher Nolan war drama. The film was Dunkirk and he received rave reviews for his work in it. Still riding the brilliant wave of his second album, Fine Line, Harry is currently filming a supporting role in Don’t Worry Darling, directed by Olivia Wilde.
Jennifer Lopez
Is she better known for her work in music or film? It’s a fair question at this point and one that’s not so easy to answer. Technically, she started as a Fly Girl on In Living Color and pivoted to films like Selena and Out Of Sight before embarking on her hugely successful music career which has generated 8 studio albums, two compilations, and 63 singles — equalling more than 40 million albums sold to date. Of the many who have crossed over from music to film, Jennifer Lopez seems to be the master at doing both at the same time! Her second album, J.Lo, was released the same week as her film The Wedding Planner — and both debuted at number one, making her the first woman to achieve that feat. She’s been in 46 films and 10 TV shows and we just want to know: When does she sleep?
Mandy Moore
Mandy Moore first rose to fame when she was just 15 with the release of her debut single, the Britney-esque bubble-gum pop hit, “Candy.” (We still love it!). She quickly decided that working in both the worlds of music and film was to be her jam, and landed memorable leading roles in films such as A Walk To Remember, Chasing Liberty, the criminally underrated Saved, Because I Said So, and the animated hit Tangled. It’s worth noting that the characters she played sang in most of these films, as well. Perhaps the portrayal she’s best known for is that of the beloved matriarch Rebecca Pearson in NBC’s massive TV hit, This Is Us.
Beyoncé
The word icon gets thrown around a lot these days, and we get it, but this lady here, excuse us this Queen Bey here, she does it all and deserves to be called an icon. As a member of Destiny’s Child, she sold more than 60 million albums worldwide. As a solo artist, she’s nearly doubled that figure. When she decided to dip her toes into the waters of acting, she kept with the winning music theme as she went groovy-baby with Austin Powers in Goldmember, played Lily in The Fighting Temptations, and then hit the bullseye in her girl-group inspired turn as Deena Jones in Dreamgirls.
Madonna
You don’t get to be called The Queen of Pop for simply showing up. No, that crown rests now and forever more, squarely on the head of one Madonna Louise Ciccone, because over the course of her nearly 40-year career in music, she has earned it. Always one to push every kind of boundary as an artist, it should come as no surprise that a career in film seemed to call out to her. And what a film career it’s been! Desperately Seeking Susan, A League of Their Own, Who’s That Girl, Dick Tracy, and of course, her Golden Globe-winning turn as Evita, which she filmed while concealing a pregnancy. Dang!
Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton is a gosh darn national treasure. Let’s just acknowledge that for a moment. She’s an incredible force of nature who has written more than 3,000 songs, 25 of which reached number one. With truly timeless hits that sound contemporary years later — like “Jolene,” “I Will Always Love You,” “Islands in the Stream,” “9-5” and “Here You Come Again” — she’s been one of the biggest names in music for decades for good reason. Dolly’s magnetism transcended music as she made the jump to movies with iconic roles in films such as 9 to 5 (the story goes that she memorized not only her lines, but everyone else’s as well) and Steel Magnolias, proving that while “it takes a whole lot of money to look this cheap” there’s much more to her than meets the eye.
Queen Latifah
This Jersey native has always put “Ladies First” in her rap career, and as she’s moved into acting it’s clear that that idea is more than just an idea — it’s her mantra. Whether she’s playing Khadija James in Living Single, Sasha Franklin in Girls Trip, or the Empress of the Blues herself, Bessie Smith, in the HBO film Bessie, Latifah has built a career playing strong female characters with courage, determination, and sass. In her latest project, The Equalizer, Latifah takes on an iconic ’80s TV hero and flips the script to make the show’s namesake a heroine. All hail.
Jennifer Hudson
Think you could go from auditioning for American Idol (season 3) with an Aretha Franklin song to portraying Aretha Franklin in a hotly anticipated biopic? Not most of us. Not anyone else, really. Only one woman could do that and that woman is Jennifer Hudson. Her first post-Idol move was a big one — playing Effie in the monster hit movie musical Dreamgirls nabbed her an Oscar and a Golden Globe. And since she proved that she can sing like no-no-no-nobody else, it seems only fitting that she will soon be gracing screens everywhere when she embodies The Queen of Soul in Respect. Side note, if you don’t get chills up and down your spine from the trailer of that movie, then we just don’t know what to say.
Will Smith
“Parents Just Don’t Understand” that The Fresh Prince of Bel Air was born to be a multi-hyphenate. He pings and pongs between the worlds of music and acting, and often has them meet in the middle by featuring his songs in his films (smart move if you ask us!). During the 1990s he was known as The King of the 4th of July for the mega-blockbusters he starred in that were released over the holiday weekend (Independence Day and Men in Black). We’ve seen him be hilarious in Hitch, step into the ring as The Greatest in the biopic Ali (for which he was nominated for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe), and turn blue for Aladdin — he really can do it all. We love the movies, but to us, na na na na na na na, he will always be “Gettin’ Jiggy With It.”
Barbra Streisand
Name an award and chances are Barbra Streisand has won it. Seriously, she’s one of only 21 people to have an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award). It’s not new news that she started out in the early 1960s with music and by the end of the decade was starring in successful films, but it is still news that matters. Go back and watch her movies — they’re phenomenal — Funny Girl, Hello, Dolly!, The Way We Were, The Mirror Has Two Faces, The Prince of Tides, and A Star Is Born are the top of her tops.
LL Cool J
Ladies Love Cool James, whether he’s rapping or acting, they just love him. Is it the muscles? Is it the kangol hat? Can’t say for sure, but whatever it is, it’s working for him. Over the course of the last 35 years, James Todd Smith has been a critically and commercially successful rapper who crossed over into acting with his own TV sitcom In the House before adding film roles such as those in Deep Blue Sea, Deliver Us From Eva, and Mindhunters. You’ve probably seen him the most in NCIS, which he’s starred in since 2009.
Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw’s cowboy hat and ageless rugged good looks have served him very well as country singer, with hits going back as far as the mid ’90’s. He’s also one half of a country power couple, his other half being superstar Faith Hill. He’s slowly moved into acting in films such as Friday Night Lights and Flicka, before taking on a leading role in The Blind Side as real-life good guy Sean Tuohy.
Cher
You’d be hard pressed to find a multi-hyphenate who was known by only one name that was huge before Cher. Not like how Elvis Presley was Elvis or Frank Sinatra was Sinatra; how Cher was always simply Cher. She got you, babe, as part of singing and TV hosting duo Sonny and Cher with her late ex-husband Sonny Bono, then went on to launch an incredibly successful solo career with hits like “Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves,” and “Half Breed” before making her Broadway debut in Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. Her film career is incredible — seminal roles in Silkwood, The Witches of Eastwick, Mask, and Moonstruck to name but a few. Never one to rest on her laurels, Cher returned to the big screen as Meryl Streep’s mother in Mamma Mia 2 despite only being three years older than her onscreen daughter. Think that’s crazy? Snap out of it.
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