Selena Gomez Says She Spent ‘Years Hoping’ for the Chance to Play Singer Linda Ronstadt
Selena Gomez has been on cloud nine since landing the role of Linda Ronstadt in an upcoming biopic.
“I have no words to describe my heart for this project,” Gomez, 31, wrote via her Instagram Story on Friday, January 19, reposting Deadline’s report about her casting. “Years of hoping this dream would become my reality. ??.”
She continued in a follow-up post, “Love your heart and soul for life and music @lindaronstadtmusic.”
Gomez sparked speculation that she would play Ronstadt, 77, in a movie earlier this month, uploading an Instagram Story photo of herself reading the singer’s 2013 memoir, Feels Like Home. Multiple outlets subsequently confirmed that Gomez was cast in a biopic based on the book with David O. Russell attached to direct.
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The currently untitled project is set to be produced by Ronstadt’s manager, John Boylan, and James Keach, who previously produced the 2019 documentary Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice.
Gomez, for her part, has long been a fan of Ronstadt.
“It kind of reminds me a little of Linda Ronstadt, ’70s vibe,” Gomez said of her album Revival in a 2015 radio interview with Ryan Seacrest. “I always used to get told that I looked like her and I started listening to her music because of that.”
During the sit-down, Gomez gushed that her favorite of Ronstadt’s songs is “When I Will Be Loved,” which came out in 1974.
Gomez got her big break as a child star, appearing on Barney & Friends before becoming a Disney Channel icon. Gomez first pursued music as part of the band Selena Gomez & The Scene but ultimately decided to go solo. She has released four studio albums and earned one Grammy nomination, but Gomez recently hinted she might be done with music.
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“I started having a lot of fun with music and then touring was really fun,” Gomez said during a January appearance on the “SmartLess” podcast. “I was doing [Wizards of Waverly Place] at the same time and I just found it really fun so I just kept going. But the older I get, the more I’m kind of like, ‘I would like to find something to just settle on.’”
She added at the time, “I do feel like I have one more album in me, but I would probably choose acting.”
Gomez announced on Thursday, January 18, that she planned to revisit her Wizards of Waverly Place role in an upcoming Disney Channel pilot. Gomez will produce the spinoff alongside TV brother David Henrie, with both actors appearing in the first episode.
“Home again,” she wrote via Instagram Story, sharing a snap of her script.
