Grizabella is played by Jennifer Hudson in the 2019 Cats movie.
| “ | Grizabella is isolated and alone, but possessed of an inner grace and strength. Mocked by the other cats, she has been excluded from the rest of the tribe, and dreams of the days when she was young and adored. | ” |
— Cats Movie Program
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Personality[]
Grizabella is very lonely and haunted. She desperately wants to be accepted and adored again, but she has fallen from grace and is no longer accepted by the tribe. But despite being shunned repeatedly, she does not give up. Grizabella is a strong-willed survivor.
Jennifer Hudson said of her character: "She comes with a weight and heaviness to her. I feel like when you get to see part of the story, you will want to know more of it. And when you hear her, you feel her. Just talking about it, I'm shaken by it."
Role[]
Grizabella first appears right after The Rum Tum Tugger's number. As Rum Tum Tugger runs out of the Milk Bar, he hisses at Grizabella which alerts the tribe of her presence. Victoria is the first to crawl out of the milk bar and move slowly towards Grizabella with a curious gaze. Grizabella appears surprised by her reaction and starts singing Grizabella the Glamour Cat to her, but gets interrupted by Cassandra who threatens to scratch her. Then Cassandra starts to sing Grizabella the Glamour cat in a hateful way. She sings of Grizabella's once glamorous past with disdain. Demeter soon joins in on the song and together they start to mock her, but are held back by Munkustrap. Slowly the whole tribe joins in on the singing and keeps moving towards her. Finally Grizabella has enough and she hisses loudly at them before crawling away into an alley.
During the beginning of tbe Jellicle Ball, Grizabella arrives and quietly hides away from the eyes of the other cats, but Cassandra notices her presence and quickly chases her out with the help of the other cats. Grizabella is then left alone, outside under a streetlamp. She sings the first rendition of Memory and is unaware of Victoria watching. Victoria comes out of the shadows and sings Beautiful Ghosts to Grizabella, trying sympathize with her. Grizabella listens and is less wary of Victoria, however she still moves away when Victoria reaches out to her.
After Old Deuteronomy is saved, Victoria finds Grizabella and reaches out and nuzzles her. Grizabella walks with Victoria into the Egyptain where the Jellicle ball is held. All the cats look at Grizabella with disdain, but Victoria encourages her to sing. Grizabella then sings the final rendition of Memory. During the song, Grizabella falls to the ground, crying. Victoria then sings to encourage Grizabella to continue her song with her own verses. After her song, everyone seems to finally understand her plight and Old Deuteronomy choses Grizabella as the Jellicle choice, leading her to be accepted at last. Mistoffelees uses his magic to repair the chandelier that is connected to a hot air balloon, with Grizabella then flown up to the Heaviside layer.
Appearance[]
| “ | Grizabella has a scratch, a scar above her eye, which is a huge part of her character as well. | ” |
— Jennifer Hudson
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Memory (From The Motion Picture Soundtrack "Cats")
"Memory" by Jennifer Hudson
Gallery[]
Trailers
Movie
Concept Art
Headcanons[]
Feel free to add any headcanons or theories you have about Grizabella, but don't delete other people's ideas.
Theories
- Grizabella left the tribe with Macavity in hopes of being a star, but as soon as she got injured, Macavity left her. He then replaced her with Bombalurina.
Relationships