Life Is Not a Fairy Tale is a memoir by Fantasia Barrino, describing her life prior to national prominence as winner of the third season of American Idol. The book was adapted into a 2006 Lifetime television movie.

Book

Fantasia recounts her rise from high-school dropout to music star in her autobiography, which became a New York Times bestseller.

As an American Idol contestant, she captured the hearts of millions with her extraordinary voice and sassy style, with those qualities she won the talent contest and became a nationally prominent singer. But her life began much more humbly. At the age of seventeen, despite her remarkable talent, Fantasia was an uneducated, unmarried teenage mother living in poverty. She was faced with many tough battles growing up in the city of High Point, North Carolina, which is mainly famous for its furniture Market. She shows respect and admiration to the strong women who raised her, her mother and grandmother, both preachers who instilled in her a strong faith in God. Both women struggled with the same issues as Fantasia at a young age which made Fantasia realize that she would only be headed down the same dead end path if she didn't make a change for the better.

Film

Life Is Not A Fairy Tale: The Fantasia Barrino Story
Directed by	Debbie Allen
Written by	Keith Glover
Produced by	Robert O. Green (exec.) Bill Haber (exec.) Kimberly Calhoun Boling (co-exec.) Malcolm Petal (co-exec.) Ellyn Williams (co-exec.)
Starring	Fantasia Barrino Viola Davis Loretta Devine Kadeem Hardison
Cinematography	John Simmons
Edited by	Lillian Benson
Music by	Rickey Minor
Production companies	L.I.F.T. Production Ostar Productions
Distributed by	Lifetime
Release date	August 19, 2006 (2006-08-19)
Running time	84 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Life Is Not A Fairy Tale: The Fantasia Barrino Story is a 2006 American biographical film directed by Debbie Allen, based on the life of American singer Fantasia Barrino, adapted from her book of the same name.

The movie begins with Fantasia's humble beginnings, growing up in a close knit God-fearing family that faced its own personal demons of struggling with their dreams. Fantasia faces problems with her self-esteem, sexual abuse, teen pregnancy, and her faith as she fights to overcome her mistakes at a young age.

The movie premiered on August 19, 2006, with more than nineteen million viewers during the August 19–20 weekend, becoming Lifetime's second most-watched movie in its 22-year history.^{[citation needed]} The movie was ranked the top cable movie premiere of the year among women ages 18–49.^{[citation needed]}

Cast

• Fantasia Barrino as herself
  • Jamia Simone Nash as young Fantasia
• Viola Davis as Diane Barrino
• Kadeem Hardison as Joseph Barrino
• Loretta Devine as Addie Collins
• Thomas Tah Hyde III as Rico Barrino
  • Paul Amadi as young Rico
• Terrance Thomas as Teeny
• Deanna Dawn as Ruby
• Chico Benymon as Rodney Birks
• Norman Nixon Jr. as Dwayne
• Cedric Pendleton as Johnny Lee

Music

No soundtrack was released, but many songs appear throughout the film.

• "Chain of Fools" — Fantasia
• "Respect Yourself" — Viola Davis
• "Wade in the Water" — Viola Davis
• "The Lord is Blessing Me" — Viola Davis & Jamia Simone Nash
• "ABC" — Jamia Simone Nash, Paul Amadi, & Terrance Thomas
• "Almighty God" — Viola Davis
• "Pass Me Not" — Fantasia, Viola Davis, and Loretta Davis
• "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours — Fantasia
• "Proud Mary — Fantasia
• "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" — Fantasia
• "Almighty God" — Viola Davis & Loretta Davis
• "Summertime — Fantasia
• "God Bless the Child" — Fantasia
• "I Wanna Hear You Say (Do You Love Me)" — Fantasia

Accolades