Alana Thompson has lived much of her life in the spotlight, and many fans may think they know everything there is to know about her. Is this true? Her Lifetime biopic, I Was Honey Boo Boo, will reveal details about her life and how she found stardom as a child (and the good and bad that came with it).

The film will premiere on Saturday, May 17, and it was recently confirmed that Thompson will narrate her biopic. It will star Vale Cooper and Isabelle Ayres as the younger and older Thompson, and Chelsea Larkin will portray Mama June Shannon.

What Will Alana Thompson’s Biopic Be About?

Thompson is better known as Honey Boo Boo to the fans who watched her grow up as a child pageant competitor on the show Toddlers and Tiaras and later the TV series Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, which focused on her family life. According to the film’s synopsis, “[Thompson] reveals how her on-screen confidence concealed the harsh reality of constant criticism and family struggles, particularly with her mother, Mama June.”

The storyline will also focus on how Thompson and her family gained “meteoric stardom as reality TV stars.” However, life was not what it seemed behind closed doors. The synopsis states that there were “forced smiles, silent tears and the lingering sense of uncertainty for what the future held for Alana and her family.” Her family includes older sister, Lauryn “Pumpkin” Efird (who will be portrayed by Georgia Small), and her father, Sugar Bear (portrayed by Neil Chinneck).

Thompson’s late half-sister Anna Cardwell (Mama June’s daughter) does not appear in the film, and no actress is listed as portraying her on IMDB.

How Has Fame Impacted Alana Thompson’s Life?

In recent years, Thompson has tried to break away from the Honey Boo Boo label and prefers to be referred to by her legal name. She’s not a child anymore, and she has acknowledged the downside of living life in the public eye from a young age. The film will address these struggles, but this is a topic that the reality TV star has touched on before.

In an interview with Teen Vogue in 2021, Thompson discussed the dark side of fame and why she was trying to shed her child star image. “I guess people still expect me to be little Honey Boo Boo and I’m not anymore,” she said. “Just because I’m from the south, people expect me to be all country bumpkin, out riding four-wheelers all the time, but that’s not really how it is … But I do not care. As long as I like myself, I’m good.”

She also emphasized how she was trying to make a new life, including attending college, and that she is no longer the little girl to whom fans were first introduced. “They are completely two different people. I would say that I do like this Alana now, rather than the younger Alana,” she admitted. “I don’t ever look at people and I’m like, ‘Oh, I wish I was like her.’ Because I don’t ever wish to be like nobody. I am my own person.” It will not be long before we get a better glimpse into who she really is as a person, thanks to her new biopic.

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