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Lifetime will present the World Premiere of AALIYAH: THE PRINCESS OF R&B tonight, November 15th at 8/7c. Check out a FIRST LOOK below!
Lifetime's Original Movie, "Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B," starring Alexandra Shipp ("House of Anubis") as the beloved actress and music sensation, is set to premiere Saturday, November 15, at 8pm ET/PT. The two-hour movie event is executive produced by Howard Braunstein, Debra Martin Chase and Wendy Williams, and based on the bestseller "Aaliyah: More Than a Woman" by former Time Magazine music editor Christopher John Farley (Game World).
Before Beyoncé and before Rihanna, self-proclaimed "street but sweet" Aaliyah was poised to become a global icon with top-selling albums, a hot movie career and an adoring fan base. The film follows the beautiful and talented performer's inspirational journey, from her debut on "Star Search" at the age of ten to the challenges she faced during her rise to become the Princess of R&B. On August 25, 2001, at the height of her popularity, her life was tragically cut short when a plane carrying the singer and some of her video crew crashed after takeoff from a Bahamian runway. Although just 22-years-old at the time of her death, Aaliyah continues to lead a legacy as Billboard's tenth most famous R&B artist of the past 25 years and one of the recording industry's most successful artists in history.
Multi-talented actress and singer/songwriter Alexandra Shipp starred as KT
RUSH in the
Nickelodeon series "House of Anubis." Additional credits include the upcoming film "Drumline 2: A New Beat," " Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," "Ray Donovan," "Victorious," "Switched at Birth" and "Awkward." Shipp is currently filming
Universal Pictures' "Straight Outta Compton."
"Aaliyah: The
Princess of R&B" also stars Rachael Crawford ("The Man") and
Sterling Jarvis ("The Sentinel") as Aaliyah's parents Diane and Mike Haughton; A.J. Saudin ("Degrassi," "The Next Generation") as Aaliyah's brother Rashad Haughton; and Lyriq Bent ("Saw IV") as her
UNCLE and music manager
Barry Hankerson. The film also stars Anthony Grant as
Damon Dash, Izaak Smith ("Mirror, Mirror") as Timbaland,
Elise Neal ("The Soul Man") as
Gladys Knight and Chattrisse Dolabaille ("Home Away") as Missy Elliot. "Aaliyah: The
Princess of R&B" is produced by Aaliyah Productions, Inc. Howard Braunstein ("The Informant!") Debra Martin Chase ("The
Princess Diaries," "Sparkle") and
Wendy Williams ("
Wendy Williams Show") serve as executive producers. Steve Solomos serves as producer. Bradley Walsh ("Turn the Beat Around") directs from a script written by
Michael Elliot ("Brown Sugar").
2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats
Best Direction of a Play - Top 3
1.
Joe Mantello - Death of a Salesman
19.7% of votes
2.
Duncan MacMillan, Jeremy Herrin - Every Brilliant Thing
17.4% of votes
3.
Whitney White - Liberation
9.8% of votes