From executive producers and Grammy Award winners Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, and Missy Elliott, comes the authorized musical tale of the incomparable gospel singers, The Clark Sisters. The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel recounts the story of the highest-selling female gospel group in history and of their trailblazing mother, Mattie Moss Clark (Aunjanue Ellis). Credited with bringing Gospel music to the mainstream, the five Clark sisters (Christina Bell as “Twinkie,” Kierra Sheard as “Karen,” Sheléa Frazier as “Dorinda,” Raven Goodwin as “Denise,” Angela Birchett as “Jacky”) overcame humble beginnings in Detroit, enduring abuse, loss, rejection, betrayal, and sibling rivalries to achieve international fame as icons of the Gospel music industry.
Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige & Missy Elliott Tell The Clark Sisters’ Iconic Story in New Biopic
While overcoming abuse, betrayal and sibling rivalry, The Clark Sisters worked to break gospel music into mainstream radio.
Queen Latifah, 50, Mary J. Blige, 49, Missy Elliott, 48, and Holly Carter teamed up to executive produce The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel. The new film — from director Christine Swanson and written by Camille Tucker and Sylvia L. Jones — premieres on Lifetime April 11 at 8 p.m. ET and recounts the complex story of five sisters struggling to juggle their religious beliefs, familial obligations and personal desires on their journey to becoming the highest-selling female gospel group in history. The writers, director, executive producers and stars of the groundbreaking film are all black women.
In a clip shared exclusively with PEOPLE, Latifah, Blige and Elliott reveal why they wanted to tell The Clark Sisters’ story. The singing sensations are played by Christina Bell as “Twinkie,” Sheléa Frazier as Dorinda, Raven Goodwin as Denise, Angela Birchett as Jacky, and Kierra Sheard as her real-life mom, Karen Clark Sheard.
“The Clark Sisters are one of the most influential gospel groups ever!” Queen Latifah tells PEOPLE in a statement. “They’ve been with me since my childhood years. When they first came out, when normally you would hear disco, club music, even hip-hop in its early years and even R&B — there’s this gospel record playing in the middle of all of that called ‘You Brought the Sunshine.’”
