Lady Sings the Blues (1972) on Netflix

Plot summary

Eleanora Fagan, who performs as Billie Holiday, is fifteen in 1928 Baltimore, keeping house in a brothel. A man follows her from the building and rapes her, and she runs to her mother, Sadie, who arranges a cleaning job for her at a Harlem brothel run by Lorraine, where the pay is small. Billie turns to prostitution, then quits. She tries out as a showgirl at a nightclub without luck, but Piano Man accompanies her on a song and the owner, Jerry, hires her to sing in his show. Her first night goes badly until Louis McKay leaves a twenty-dollar tip. The two become involved, and the bandleaders Harry and Reg Hanley bring her on as a soloist for a southern tour that they hope leads to a radio network booking.