Photo: Leon Bennett/Getty; Walt Disney/Everett
Halle Bailey is about to be a huge part of our world.
The 19-year-old R&B singer will star in Disney’s live-action remake ofThe Little Mermaidas Ariel, the rebellious royal daughter set on becoming human at a terrible price.
Read on for what to know about the young singer who just scored the role of a lifetime.
She’s part of a duo with her older sister Chloe
Bailey has made a name for herself alongside older sister Chloe, 21, in the R&B group Chloe x Halle.
“The great thing about being sisters and working together is we can be honest with each other,” Bailey told PEOPLE in 2018. “When we feel like we’re not into something, we can just be like, ‘No, that’s trash, let’s throw it away!’ And then we laugh about it. With somebody new, you would be tiptoeing around trying to tell them that you didn’t like something. It’s kind of fun, just being honest with your sister and making memories.”
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Beyoncé is their mentor
The sisters found success when their cover of Beyoncé’s “Pretty Hurts” got the attention of the superstar herself — and her label. Chloe X Halle were subsequently signed to Parkwood Entertainment in 2015 and the duo opened for Beyoncé during the European leg of her 2016 tour. The two would go on to open for Beyoncé and husband Jay-Z during the U.S. leg of theOn the Run IItour in 2018.
“Meeting Beyoncé was definitely one of our biggest fan-girl moments,” Halle told PEOPLE last year. “I feel like once you’re comfortable around Beyoncé, you don’t really get starstruck anymore!”
“Being in the midst of having such a beautiful mentor like her, we were allowed to explore with our creativity, and we’re so thankful to her for providing her platform and always reminding us that you don’t have to dumb down your art for the world — you can keep creating new, innovative things and let the world catch up to you,” added Halle.
Chloe x Halle/Twitter
She stars alongside Yara Shahidi inblack-ishspinoffgrown-ish
This won’t be Bailey’s first foray into acting, though certainly her biggest. Bailey’s only other acting credit comes from theblack-ishspinoffgrown-ish, where she stars as a track and field athlete along with her sister. The show follows teenagers as they navigate the transition into college from high school and moving away from home.
The Little Mermaidis also set to star Melissa McCarthy as Ursula and Awkwafina and Jacob Tremblay. Production is expected to begin next year.
source: people.com
