Bessie (2015)
Popularity4.5/5
Trending4/5
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
Sep3.3kOct2.9kNov3.6kDec3.7kJan4.2kFeb4.9kMar4.2kApr3.4kMay3.1kJun3.4kJul3.0kAug3.1k
2025-09 to 2026-08
Directors
Dee Rees
Cast
Queen Latifah, Michael Kenneth Williams, Khandi Alexander, Mo'Nique
The story
Bessie Smith (Queen Latifah) is a young singer from Chattanooga, Tennessee. She and her siblings are orphaned when their parents, William and Laura, die, leaving their oldest sister, Viola (Khandi Alexander), to raise them. Viola is abusive and vicious and Bessie's childhood is unhappy.
Genres
Biographical picture, LGBTQ-related film, Musical, biographical film
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…
Movie themes
Stories and ideas
Time travel 236Space 248Heists 704Spies 868Time loops 40Dreams 189Artificial intelligence 96Aliens 402Robots 63After the apocalypse 431Revenge 270Survival 198Conspiracies 223Missing persons 43Road trips 6Courtroom 164Prison 510Friendship 773Family relationships 3,979Identity 481
Genres and styles
Science fiction 4,367Horror 8,213Comedy 19,326Drama 30,786Romance 9,639Action 9,279Adventure 7,234Thrillers 11,128Mysteries 3,777Crime 8,420Fantasy 3,690Animation 2,002Documentaries 8,596Musicals 4,133Music 4,133War 2,832Westerns 3,226Biography 3,019Historical 890Sport 1,150Silent films 3,359LGBTQ-related 2,187Teen 1,531Adult 1,020Independent 800Coming of age 1,388Monsters 1,076Slashers 1,085Erotic 818Buddy films 735Zombies 611Splatter 368Vampires 448Ghosts 538Parodies 1,080Superheroes 566Disasters 446Dystopian 421