My dear friend Aretha Franklin must be smiling from heaven.
For the first time since 1999, two actresses have received SAG nominations for playing the same character.
One was on TV, the other in movies.
Jennifer Hudson’s remarkable performance as Aretha in the movie “Respect” garnered her a Best Actress nomination for film.
Cynthia Erivo’s equally stunning turn as Aretha in the TV mini series “Genius” brought her a nomination for Best Actress as well.
In 1999, Cate Blanchett was nominated for playing Queen Elizabeth I in “Elizabeth,” the movie. It was a towering performance.
In that same year, Dame Judi Dench was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in “Shakespeare in Love,” the movie, also playing Queen Elizabeth I. Dench went on to win the Oscar as well.
Hudson and Erivo are old associates. They starred together in the revival of the musical “The Color Purple” on Broadway a few seasons ago. They were each nominated for Tony Awards. Erivo won.
Two great ladies, great performances, very much deserving of accolades. But it all comes back to Aretha, a posthumous Pulitzer Prize winner, multiple Grammy winner, and legend who we miss every day.
A tip of the hat to Wilson Morales for pointing this out!
