Proveniente da una povera famiglia di colore, Billie Holiday attraversa un'esistenza drammatica e travagliata prima di diventare una delle più grandi cantanti di jazz e blues: dai bordelli e dai night di infimo ordine di Harlem al successo della Carnegie Hall. Tutto però troppo tardi: Billie muore poco tempo dopo aver finalmente raggiunto il successo, ormai minata dall'abuso di alcool e droghe.
- Genere: Dramma, Musica
- Studio: Weston Productions, Jobete Productions, Motown Productions, Paramount Pictures, Sidney J. Furie Productions
- Parola chiave: new york city, brothel, jazz singer or musician, mental breakdown, biography, addiction, rape victim, tour bus, racism, based on memoir or autobiography, period drama, drug overdose, music history, lynching, dying young, black singer, withdrawal, heroin addict, nightclub singer, blues music, billie holiday, harlem, new york city, carnegie hall, rise to fame, wayward girl, death of a musician, music tour, 1940s, somber, 1930s, following one's dream, desperate, former prostitute, period film, straight jacket, cautionary, black woman, cultural icon, woman's story, disheartening, powerful, woman musician, deep south racism, kkk rally
- Cast: Diana Ross, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, James T. Callahan, Paul Hampton, Sid Melton
