Billie Eilish is reportedly in advanced talks to make her film acting debut in a new adaptation of The Bell Jar, the classic novel by Sylvia Plath.
According to Deadline, the singer is being lined up to play the novel’s protagonist Esther Greenwood in the upcoming film, which will be directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Sarah Polley.
If confirmed, the project would mark the first major on-screen acting role for Eilish, who has primarily focused on music and songwriting throughout her career.
The Bell Jar returns to the big screen
First published in 1963, The Bell Jar is the only novel written by Sylvia Plath. The semi-autobiographical story follows Esther Greenwood, a young woman navigating identity, ambition and societal pressure while experiencing a severe mental health crisis.
Plath died by suicide in February 1963, shortly after the novel was first published in the UK. The book has since become one of the most widely studied works of 20th-century literature.
The new project will be only the second major screen adaptation of the novel. The first was the 1979 film version starring Marilyn Hassett.
Previous adaptations struggled to reach production
Several attempts to bring The Bell Jar back to the screen have stalled over the years.
In 2007, Julia Stiles was attached to a planned film adaptation that never moved forward. Around a decade later, Dakota Fanning was also announced as the lead in another proposed version, which was eventually abandoned before filming began.
In 2019, Showtime reportedly began developing a television adaptation with Frankie Shaw attached, though that project was also later shelved.
Billie Eilish’s career beyond music
Billie Eilish has built one of the most successful music careers of her generation since breaking through in the late 2010s. Working closely with her brother and collaborator Finneas (Finneas O’Connell), she has released several chart-topping albums and major film songs.
The pair won Academy Awards for Best Original Song twice in quick succession:
No Time To Die, from the James Bond film No Time to Die (2022 ceremony)
What Was I Made For?, from Barbie (2024 ceremony)
By 2024, Eilish became the youngest person in Oscar history to win two Academy Awards for songwriting.
It has not yet been confirmed whether she will contribute music to The Bell Jar adaptation alongside her acting role.
