EXCLUSIVE: Production is underway on Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been, a documentary about the singer and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee known for “He’s a Rebel” and collaborations with Cher, Bruce Springsteen, Dionne Warwick, Sam Cooke and other greats.
The film is being directed by Barry Avrich (Oscar Peterson: Black + White, The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue) and produced by actress-producer Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Hidden Figures, Empire) and Mark Selby (Oscar Peterson: Black + White, Born Hungry).
Love is one of the central participants in the 2013 documentary 20 Feet from Stardom, Morgan Neville’s Oscar-winning film about backup singers. But she also sang lead vocals – on the Christmas classic “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home),” which she performed every Yuletide on David Letterman’s late-night show, and on her biggest hit, 1962’s “He’s a Rebel,” but as a release notes, that single “wasn’t even released under [Love’s] name; producer Phil Spector credited it to the Crystals instead.”
Darlene Love
Courtesy of Mike Ruiz
“One of the rare musical artists to sustain a career across six decades, Love is a legend to fellow musicians from Bruce Springsteen to Bono, and has mentored and influenced generations of artists,” the release states. “Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been examines her extraordinary life – from prodigy to icon – set against the backdrop of the civil rights movement and the racial discrimination she navigated throughout her career.”
Bruce Springsteen in interviewed for the documentary ‘Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been’
Melbar Entertainment Group
The film features exclusive interviews with luminaries including Cher, Springsteen, Letterman, and Warwick, as well as Nancy Sinatra, Steven Van Zandt, Paul Shaffer, Marc Shaiman, Lou Adler, Jimmy Fallon, Robert Smigel, and many others. “In her own words and through her own eyes, the film tells the powerful story of Love’s return to an industry that had long overlooked her, and her embrace by a new generation of fans and musicians who rediscovered her magic.”
Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been is co-produced by Avrich and Selby’s Melbar Entertainment Group and Henson’s TPH Entertainment. Barry Avrich, Mark Selby, Taraji P. Henson, Jamila Jordan-Theus, Tim Drake, and Len Evans serve as executive producers.
IAG, which represents both Melbar Entertainment Group and TPH Entertainment, brokered the production deal.
Love’s remarkable career in entertainment extends beyond singing into acting. In the Lethal Weapon movies, she memorably played Roger Murtagh’s (Danny Glover) wife, Trish Murtagh. She has performed on Broadway in Grease and for several years played Motormouth Maybelle in the Broadway production of Hairspray. She appeared in the Netflix film Holiday Rush in 2019; the following year she appeared The Christmas Chronicles 2, also for Netflix, in a role that drew upon her acting and singing talents.
Taraji P. Henson at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2025.
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images
In addition to serving as producer and executive producer on the Darlene Love documentary, Taraji P. Henson is set to star in and executive produce the Peacock series The Accomplice, based on the novel by 50 Cent. Her production company, TPH Entertainment, is producing the series along with G-Unit Film & Television and Universal Content Productions.
Henson and TPH Entertainment signed a two-picture acting and producing deal with Netflix. She and her company also signed a first-look deal with Fox Entertainment Studios. “Under the multi-year pact,” Henson’s reps tell us, “Henson, alongside Jamila Jordan-Theus, Head of Development and Production at TPH Entertainment, and their team will develop a slate of scripted and unscripted projects for Fox Entertainment Studios spanning comedy, drama, and reality formats.”
In the nonfiction space, Henson served as executive producer and narrator of Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, an Oscar-shortlisted feature documentary directed by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson.