Queen Latifah and Mo'Nique as the legendary bisexual blues singers Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey in queer filmmaker Dee Rees’ 2015 Emmy award-winning biopic BESSIE. From the beginning of the film we learn of Bessie’s drive and how her career started while she was singing alongside Ma Rainey. Ma takes Bessie under her wing and helps her understand what it means to connect with an audience, assert yourself, and to embrace your queerness. BESSIE follows the ‘Empress of the Blues’ in the ups and downs