Jessica Gunning looks ahead to Mama Cass biopic and says late singer was “one of the first famous big women”
Baby Reindeer star Jessica Gunning has spoken ahead of her lead role in the upcoming biopic centring on Mama Cass.
The actor was speaking in a new interview with the Sunday Times over the weekend, in which she opened up about playing the iconic Mamas and Papas singer for an upcoming movie biopic of her life, based on the memoirs of her daughter, Owen Elliot-Kugell.
The film, titled My Mama Cass, will focus on the life and death of the singer, whose real name was Cass Elliot, after she passed away aged just 32, when her daughter was only seven years old.
Gunning, who had her breakout role in the Netflix smash hit Baby Reindeer in 2024, described the nuance of taking on the major role by saying: “She is a fascinating woman because she was probably one of the first famous big women.”
To this end, after discussing her own thoughts on body positivity and her experience of being a bigger actor in the industry, she noted that she was glad to be involved in the production from its early stages, as she can bring her own perspective to the process.
“Because sometimes you can make a fat joke and there’s no vulnerability to it, it’s just funny,” she added.
Subsequently, Gunning also noted how this is set to play into the narrative of the film, recalling the story of Elliot’s unrequited love with her bandmate, Denny Doherty.
The actor said: “The daughter met him later in life, before he died, and he basically said she was the love of his life. He was just too embarrassed to go out with her because she was bigger. So size is going to be quite a big part of her story.”
When details of the biopic were revealed last month, it said the film will “highlight Owen’s journey to unravel the truth surrounding Cass Elliot’s untimely death – finally laying to rest the long-standing urban legend of how she tragically died at the age of 32”.
After Elliot died in 1974, false rumours swirled for decades that she choked to death on a ham sandwich in an apartment she was renting from Harry Nilssen in Mayfair, despite the fact it was confirmed that she passed away from a heart attack.
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