I Will Survive: The Gloria Gaynor Story: Full list of cast for the latest Lifetime biopic

Lifetime is set to release its latest biopic I Will Survive: The Gloria Gaynor Story on February 8, Saturday at 8 pm ET or 7 pm CT, with streaming available the following day. The film features Tony Award winner Joaquina Kalukango as Gloria Gaynor and Lance Gross in a key role.

The film, directed by Alicia K. Harris and written by Njeri Brown and Jane Espenson, explores the life and career of the legendary American singer Gloria Gaynor dubbed "Queen of Disco." Robin Roberts is the executive producer. The biopic is part of Lifetime’s Robin Roberts Presents and Voices of a Lifetime series.

Gloria Gaynor, born Gloria Fowles on September 7, 1943, is best known for her 1978 hit titled I Will Survive. The song, which was featured on her album Love Tracks, bagged the trophy at the 22nd Grammy Awards.

It also received nominations for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. I Will Survive has since been recognized as one of the greatest songs of all time, ranking No. 492 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and No. 97 on Billboard's All-Time Hot 100.

Fans of Gaynor’s music and disco history can catch I Will Survive: The Gloria Gaynor Story, exclusively on Lifetime.

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I Will Survive: The Gloria Gaynor Story: Full list of cast

1) Joaquina Kalukango as Gloria Gaynor

Joaquina Kalukango (Image via Lifetime)

The upcoming documentary film I Will Survive: The Gloria Gaynor Story features Tony Award-winning actress Joaquina Kalukango in the lead role as the American singer Gloria. Kalukango is best known for her performance as Nelly Freeman in Paradise Square (2022).

Her other Broadway roles include Into the Woods (2022), Slave Play (2019), and The Color Purple (2015). She also starred in Lifetime’s 2021 biopic Mahalia, which received a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Television Movie. According to Playbill, Gaynor herself will contribute an original song for the film, which Kalukango will perform.

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2) Lance Gross as Linwood Simon

Actor Lance Gross has been cast as Linwood Simon, Gaynor’s husband, in Lifetime’s upcoming biopic I Will Survive: The Gloria Gaynor Story. The film not only highlights Gaynor’s rise to fame but also explore the struggles she faced in her personal life. This includes her marriage to Simon.

Gross is widely recognized for his role in Tyler Perry’s House of Payne (2006). In addition, Gross has also appeared in Sleepy Hollow (2013) and MacGyver (2016).

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3) Francesca Bianchi as Stephanie Gold

Bianchi portrays Stephanie Gold in I Will Survive: The Gloria Gaynor Story. Per Moviedelic, Gaynor reportedly first met Stephanie in the early 2000s as her assistant and later became her agent and manager in 2006, following the singer’s divorce.

An actress and on-set dialect coach, Bianchi was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to an Italian father and a Canadian mother. She later moved to Australia, where she earned an acting degree in Melbourne. Her filmography includes Project Blue Book (2019), The Order (2020), and A Million Little Things (2021).

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I Will Survive: The Gloria Gaynor Story: List of supporting characters

Lifetime’s upcoming biopic has unveiled its supporting cast.

• Katelyn Vanier as the physical therapist
• Wolf Ryman as songwriter Dino Fekaris
• Pendo Muema as Irma

The film will explore Gaynor’s journey to stardom, highlighting her struggles and triumphs in the music industry. Fans can catch a glimpse of the biopic in the official trailer.

In an interview on Entertainment Tonight’s Then and Now, released on February 7, 2025, Gaynor revealed how her iconic song I Will Survive not only helped her heal but also inspired and uplifted her fans. She explained that the song’s power lies not in technical perfection but in its message.

Gaynor recalled a powerful experience with a fan in Italy who confided in her after a performance.

"The most poignant one was a young lady from Italy. At this show in Italy. And a young lady came to me afterwards, and she said, 'I was gonna go home, I was so depressed, and I was gonna go home so that I could end my life.'"

After hearing this, Gaynor encouraged her, and the woman shared that after listening to her song, she no longer felt the need to end her life.

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Watch I Will Survive: The Gloria Gaynor Story on Saturday, February 8, 2025 on Lifetime.