Billie Eilish’s first feature film acting role is taking shape with a sizable ensemble around her.
According to Variety, Eilish will star as Esther Greenwood in director Sarah Polley’s screen adaptation of Sylvia Plath’s 1963 novel The Bell Jar. The Focus Features film, adapted by Polley from her own screenplay, has reportedly wrapped production, though no release date has been announced.
The project marks Eilish’s feature film acting debut. She has acted on screen before, making her acting debut in 2023 in an episode of Donald Glover and Janine Nabers’ Amazon Prime limited series Swarm. Eilish is also a two-time Oscar winner for Best Original Song: first in 2022 for the James Bond theme “No Time to Die,” and again in 2024 for the Barbie ballad “What Was I Made For?”
The Ensemble Around Esther Greenwood
Variety reports that Carey Mulligan, an Oscar nominee, will play Esther’s mother, Mrs. Greenwood. Danielle Deadwyler, known for P-Valley, is set to appear as Esther’s psychiatrist, Dr. Nolan.
The cast also reportedly includes Ike Barinholtz of The Studio as Lenny, described as a wealthy New York radio host; Connor Storrie of Heated Rivalry as Marco, Esther’s disastrous blind date; and Dylan Hawco of Youngblood as Buddy Willard, Esther’s first boyfriend.
Additional roles include Lily Taylor of To the Bone as Jay Cee, the editor of Ladies’ Day magazine, where Esther is hired as an intern. Ella Beatty of If I Had Legs I’d Kick You will reportedly play Joan, an old friend, while Maggie Kuntz of The Gilded Age is listed as Doreen, a fellow intern and Esther’s best friend in New York.
A New Screen Version of Plath’s Only Novel
The Bell Jar is Plath’s only novel and is described as a semi-autobiographical story about Esther Greenwood, an aspiring writer navigating a summer magazine internship in New York while struggling with anxiety and the societal expectations placed on women in the 1950s.
Plath died by suicide a month after the book was released in the U.K. The novel was first adapted for the screen in 1979. In the years since, there have been several stalled efforts over the past two decades to bring a new version to theaters, including projects developed as vehicles for Julia Stiles and Dakota Fanning.
Polley directs this latest version after adapting the screenplay herself. The source material identifies her with Women Talking, while the new film is being made for Focus Features.
What Happens Next?
With production reportedly complete, the key remaining question is when audiences will see Eilish’s Esther Greenwood on screen. For now, no release date has been announced for The Bell Jar.