Overcoming Double Losses, Fantasia Barrino Finds Gratitude in Starring Role in 'The Color Purple'
Fantasia Barrino expresses immense gratitude for her role in the revamped edition of 'The Color Purple' after enduring the ordeal of losing everything not once, but twice
Fantasia Barrino expressed gratitude for her role in the 2023 production of The Color Purple, recognizing the challenges she has overcome in her personal life. "Having lost everything twice and fighting to get back here, it feels good," the former American Idol winner shared in an interview with E! News on December 6th.
Barrino's home was foreclosed in 2008 due to financial troubles, and two years later, she made a suicide attempt. Fast forward to 2023, her performance as Celie in the film has sparked Oscar buzz, and the 39-year-old Barrino is filled with gratitude. "That's why I'm going to savor it because my story has always been public. I've never shied away from sharing it," she explained. "I believe that when you overcome trials, that becomes your testimony. How else can you inspire someone else?"
Barrino has been candid about her personal struggles in the past. Her journey from poverty in North Carolina to music stardom was chronicled in her 2006 memoir, which was later adapted into a Lifetime movie titled Life Is Not a Fairy Tale: The Fantasia Barrino Story.
Having conquered illiteracy, sexual abuse, and other hardships, Barrino has found inspiration in working with women she admires such as Taraji P. Henson, Halle Bailey, H.E.R., and Danielle Brooks, the latter of whom also starred in the 2015 Broadway revival.
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Barrino shared, "We go through things, you fall, you get back up. So, for me to be in this room with so many amazing women like Danielle, I’m looking at these women who have a story, who are mothers, who are wives, who’ve fallen and gotten back up, they’re fighting. I want to enjoy this and know that I worked hard to get here."
Barrino starred in The Color Purple musical on Broadway from 2007 to 2008. The musical is based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker, with the original 1985 film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Whoopi Goldberg as Celie. The character is a teenager from rural Hartwell, Georgia who has two children from being raped by her abusive father. Barrino hopes that the story of redemption will uplift the audience.
“I find the greatest reward in seeing these women and men walk out of the theater after watching the movie, feeling healed and complete,” she remarked. “Being able to let go of their troubles.”
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Barrino initially turned down the opportunity to reprise her emotionally taxing role in the Broadway production. However, director Blitz Bazawule's addition of a new dimension of hope to Celie's character ultimately convinced her to reconsider.
"He told me in November, 'I want to give her an imagination so that people can see certain things,'" Barrino recounted during an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "I said, 'You got me. I'm in. I have to do it again.' What Blitz is bringing with this Color Purple, it's essential for this generation."
