Keyshia Cole can now add actress to her list of accomplishments.
The songstress is making her acting debut in the Jun. 24 premiere of “Keyshia Cole: This Is My Story.” The Lifetime film details the life of the beloved R&B star, specifically diving into her complicated relationship with her late mother, Frankie Lons.
Lons died on her 61st birthday in July of 2021after a decades-long battle with drug and substance abuse.
While the biopic doesn’t hold back in addressing Cole’s tumultuous relationship with Lons, the Grammy-nominated star explained the main purpose of the movie with three words when speaking with the Daily News at the film’s Jun. 21 premiere screening: “Because of love.”
“I’ve done a lot of crying and reflecting and everything like that. For the most part, I think it’s just a reflection of my life and the love I have for my mom and I hate that it ended the way that it did but the truth is this is just my life.”
Director of photography Jason Alexander shared the healing moments Cole experienced on set.
“These were real emotions that she went through at that point in time and so it was almost like a form of therapy,” he said in an exclusive interview with the News. “Her mother passed not too long ago, so a lot of those wounds are still very raw.”
Playing herself in the film, Cole relived intimate moments of their mother-daughter bond with Debbie Morgan, who plays Frankie.
“When Keyshia shared with me that Frankie said, ‘just stop wasting your money sending me to rehab because I like getting high,’ she had a very very deep love for Frankie and that didn’t turn her away,” Morgan told the Daily News in an exclusive interview. “I mean she could have easily said ‘Well, just screw it. This is what you want to do with your life, then go ahead and do it. But it’s like she never gave up.”
The veteran actress also noted the challenges she faced portraying Lons. “I walked a fine line in portraying the seedy part of the life she lived with the necessity I felt to also display her humanity,” she said. “She was more than just a crack addict.”
This juxtaposition played out on reality TV from 2006 to 2015 with BET’s “Keyshia Cole: All In and Frankie and Neffe.” The series gave viewers an inside look into the duo’s day-to-day lives. It’s an experience Cole doesn’t regret. In fact, she would like to explore new avenues to share her life with fans.
“I want to do a docuseries and really just dig into the story,” she said.
“Keyshia Cole: This Is My Story” premieres June 24 at 8/7c on Lifetime.
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