The 15 best acting performances by musicians

Cher proved that she was as talented an actress as she is a singer in 1987's "Moonstruck," which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress. 

Even though it's a remake of a remake, Lady Gaga brought new life to "A Star Is Born," in which she stars opposite Bradley Cooper as an aspiring singer navigating creative expression and a seriously complicated romance. 

Appearing as Rabbit, a character inspired by his own life growing up on Detroit's 8 Mile, Eminem delivered an incredible performance as an aspiring rapper making his way through the city's notoriously tough rap battle scene. He also won an Academy Award for "Lose Yourself," an original song he wrote for the film's soundtrack. 

In this iconic workplace comedy, Dolly Parton stars as Doralee Rhodes, the secretary to a misogynist boss who gets his comeuppance at the hands of Parton and her co-stars, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda. 

Barbra Streisand took home the Academy Award in 1968 for her portrayal of Broadway actress Fanny Brice in "Funny Girl," the year's most commercially successful — and critically acclaimed — film. It was her first film, and the beginning of a long career on film for this seasoned stage actress. 

Queen Latifah, a rapper and prolific actor, became the first woman in hip-hop to earn an Academy Award nod in 2002, with her portrayal of Mama Morton in the star-studded film adaptation of the musical "Chicago." 

Jamie Foxx wowed audiences with his portrayal of music icon Ray Charles in the 2004 biopic "Ray." His appearance and vocals were eerily similar to the late blues legend, earning Foxx both an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Actor the following year. 

With his recent appearance in the Taylor Sheridan series "1883," Tim McGraw's made a recent comeback to the world of acting. But let's not forget about his incredible performance as an overbearing, abusive father in in "Friday Night Lights," based on Buzz Bissinger's book about Texas high school football. 

Thanks partly to her iconic cover of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You," Whitney Houston's performance in the 1992 film "The Bodyguard," opposite Kevin Costner, remains totally unforgettable. 

Even though she starred in this adaptation of the classic musical alongside Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson managed to steal the show with her portrayal of Effie White, a member of an aspiring Motown girl group, earning her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. 

In what is some of the most perfect casting in film history, Diana Ross's portrayal of troubled blues legend Billie Holliday makes "Lady Sings The Blues" absolutely riveting. So riveting, in fact, that Ross earned a Best Actress nomination at the 1971 Academy Awards. 

Though he'd already made the transition from hip-hop to acting years before its release, Will Smith's portrayal of boxer Muhammad Ali in 2004's "Ali" really made clear that Smith was a seriously compelling actor. His incredible ability to mimic Ali's physical and vocal stature earned Smith his first of multiple Academy Award nominations. 

Bette Midler stars as a troubled rocker loosely based on Janis Joplin in this legendary biopic in 1979, earning her both an Academy Award nomination and one of her most beloved hits, a song inspired by the film and also called "The Rose." 

In one of his first post-Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch roles, Mark Wahlberg demonstrated that he had serious acting chops in "Boogie Nights," a film about the porn industry of the 1970s directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. 

In his first-ever film role, Prince created a cult classic with "Purple Rain." That may be because the film is also about a troubled Minneapolis musician on the precipice of stardom. Still, it doesn't take away from Prince's incredible performance in this legendary film — or the iconic, eponymous song he recorded to accompany it, which earned an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.