Kelly Rowland has heard the chatter about a potential Donna Summer biopic — and she’s teasing whether fans might see her in that role anytime soon.
“I would love nothing more than that role. That’s all I can say,” Rowland, 45, told Us Weekly exclusively on Thursday, July 9, while promoting Lysol’s HERE for Healthy Schools: Quality Time Off Grant. “That’s all I can say for now.”
The Grammy winner left fans eager for an update after she teased the role via Instagram on June 19, with a photo dump featuring a snap of the Queen of Disco herself.
“I’m hoping you won’t be waiting long,” Rowland teased to Us, adding, “All of us have our fingers crossed, toes crossed. We’re just totally crossed out.”
Fans have drawn comparisons between the late singer and the Destiny’s Child alum for years. Rowland even dressed as Summer for Halloween in 2019.
Later that year, Rowland appeared on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, agreeing that “it is time” for a film exploring the life of the First Lady of Love.
More recently, in 2024, Summer’s daughter Brooklyn Sudano teased that a biopic about her mom is “in the works,” also acknowledging the undeniable resemblance between her late mother and Rowland.
“Kelly and I are friends, so of course we have [spoken about it],” Sudano, 45, said at the time. “I love Kelly. She is the best. So talented, so beautiful. We hear you.”
Rowland’s recent Instagram tease and coy commentary to Us mark the most decisive hint at an upcoming biopic fans have seen thus far.
While the “Dilemma” singer told Us she has “so many things in the fire right now that I’m extremely excited about,” she has to “keep them kind of close” to her chest for now.
In the meantime, Rowland is focused on back-to-school season as a mother of two sons, Titan, 11, and Noah, 5, whom she shares with husband Tim Weatherspoon.
“[Noah] was in Pre-K, but now he’s going to start at the same school as my older son, so that’s very exciting in our household,” she told Us. “We’re still enjoying summer, but we are definitely excited about this school year, for sure.”
This year, Rowland has partnered with Lysol to promote their HERE for Healthy Schools: Quality Time Off Grant program in collaboration with the National Parent Teacher Association, which provides funding to support in-school experiences for families nationwide.
“I just thought about how tough it is [as] a parent when all of the sudden your kid gets sick, and you have to basically drop what you’re doing to make sure that they’re good,” Rowland told Us of her decision to get involved. “So the fact that there’s a brand like Lysol that really cares and wants to make sure that there’s clean surfaces [so] you’re actually making memories for you and your family.”
In addition to hand sanitizer and Lysol Disinfecting Wipes for her sons’ teachers in order to prevent the spread of illness-causing germs on surfaces, Rowland told Us she also packs their bags with a “a little cross that they don’t know about, just to keep them covered and protected,” adding, “That’s how I keep my babies safe and I pray over them.”
