Reese Witherspoon has the 'fever' to play Peggy Lee in biopic

Nora Ephron at the helm

By HitFix Staff Tuesday, Aug 10, 2010 12:38 PM

Reese Witherspoon

Credit: AP Photo

Reese Witherspoon won an Academy Award for her portrayal of country singer June Carter Cash in "Walk the Line," and now she has the "Fever" to play another music legend.

The 34-year-old actress is negotiating to play Peggy Lee in the late jazz singer's biopic, to be helmed by "Julie & Julia" director Nora Ephron, according to Variety.

Witherspoon was behind securing the rights through the Lee estate. The as-yet-untitled Fox 2000 project will be produced by her and Marc Platt, with whom Witherspoon worked with on "Legally Blonde".

Peggy Lee was a music star during the big band era and appeared in films like the 1952 re-do of "The Jazz Singer." She was married and divorced four times and lost her mother at a young age. She died in 2001 at the age 81.

Witherspoon will soon appear in December's "How Do You Know?" with Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson, stars alongside Robert Pattinson and Christoph Waltz in "Water for Elephants" in April and voices Princess Merida in forthcoming Pixar flick "Brave." If she takes up the role of Lee, it looks like she'll be putting her vocal skills to work again.