10:36am UK, Friday September 12, 2003

Gloria Estefan is to star in a Hollywood biopic of Fifties singing star Connie Francis.

Francis, the biggest female star of the 1950s, chose Estefan to play her in the movie which will chart her troubled life.

Gloria: Starring role

Francis had a string of hits including Lipstick On Your Collar, Stupid Cupid and Who's Sorry Now.

She sold more than 80 million albums and her wholesome image captivated fans on both sides of the Atlantic.

But her life was nearly destroyed in 1974 when she was raped and beaten at knifepoint in a New York motel after a show.

Francis was awarded record damages and her case won landmark safety reforms for women travellers.

But the singer was so traumatised by her ordeal that she became a recluse and attempted suicide.

Estefan said: "Connie approached me two years ago and we have been working on the film ever since.

"Parts of her story are very harrowing - as well as the rape ordeal she had an abusive relationship with her father.

"But it is ultimately a positive story and I wanted to tell it because Connie has long been a heroine of mine."

Danny De Vito is being lined up to play Connie's Italian-American father, George.

Estefan, 46, is in the UK to promote the forthcoming release of her new album, Unwrapped.