Fantasia Set to Play Mahalia Jackson in First Movie Roll

Fantasia Barrino has been turning heads lately because she’s picked up a little weight, leading many to believe that she’s pregnant. The truth is that Barrino was recently cast in the lead role for an upcoming biopic based on the life of legendary gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. Barrino is said to be in the process of gaining 45 pounds for the role. Barrino will star in the big screen adaptation of the 1993 book Got to Tell It: Mahalia Jackson, Queen of Gospel.

The movie begins filming in April in Pittsburgh and Chicago and should hit theaters by December 2011.  The New Orleans born Jackson died in 1972 at the age of 60.