Billie Eilish to Star in ‘The Bell Jar’ Movie: Is It Based on Sylvia Plath’s Life?
The singer will make her film debut in the adaptation of the classic novel
Key Takeaways
- Billie Eilish will make her film debut playing Esther in ‘The Bell Jar’ movie.
- ‘The Bell Jar’ is based on Sylvia Plath's own real-life experiences.
- Carey Mulligan will play Esther's mother; Sarah Polley is directing the film.
Sylvia Plath’s groundbreaking novel The Bell Jar is officially becoming a major motion picture (again!) and Grammy award-winning singer Billie Eilish is set to take on the lead role. To learn more about the book and adaptation, keep reading.
First, what is ‘The Bell Jar’ about?
The Bell Jar was originally published in 1963, just one month before Plath’s death. The plot follows Esther Greenwood after she arrives in New York City for a magazine internship. As the days go by, Esther begins to spiral into a severe mental health crisis, one that only deepens after she returns home to Massachusetts. It’s a haunting, deeply personal coming-of-age story that portrays mental illness with unflinching honesty—a rarity for its time.
It was Plath’s only novel and it was published under the name Victoria Lucas. Over the years, there has been a lot of debate over whether or not Plath herself wanted the book published under a pseudonym. Plath’s friend Elizabeth Sigmund commented on these rumors in 2013, telling The Guardian, “She’d [Plath] always said that she never wanted it to be published under her own name because it would hurt so many people, including her mother.”
“It was a brilliant book, one is glad that it was credited to her. But also, you have to regard her wishes. If she said that so definitely: that she didn’t want to hurt people’s feelings, by having it published under her own name,” Sigmund continued.
Is ‘The Bell Jar’ based on Sylvia Plath’s real life?
In short, yes The Bell Jar is heavily inspired by Plath’s life. Like her character, Plath interned at a magazine, suffered a psychotic break and went to a mental hospital where she received electroshock therapy. Plath did change the names of the magazine, hospital, friends and family in the book, most likely to protect their identities and to avoid legal troubles.
“She was a very fascinating person, extremely funny and generous,” Sigmund told The Guardian. “One time when I went round to lunch with her, Sylvia took me round the house and said, ‘I want five children—that’s where the boys will sleep and that’s where the girls will sleep.’ She was growing her vegetables and keeping her bees, and she had a beautiful flower garden. She brought onions and potatoes as presents…She was writing and they had a really lovely woman called Nancy who worked for her and kept the house clean and tidy. She was living a life that she thought was ideal.”
What we know so far about ‘The Bell Jar’ movie
The Bell Jar movie starring Eilish was announced exclusively by Deadline in March of this year. It will be the second time the novel has been adapted, the first being in 1979, and over the past couple of weeks, photos of Eilish as Esther have been circulated online. Carey Mulligan will also star in the film as Esther’s mother. There have also been rumors that Connor Storrie, of Heated Rivalry fame, will be joining the cast.
As of publication, The Bell Jar movie doesn’t have a release date. It will be directed by Sarah Polley and it will be Eilish’s film debut.
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