Lacey Chabert (Mean Girls, Party of Five) and Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actress Gena Rowlands (The Notebook, Gloria) will star in the upcoming Lifetime Original Movie What if God Were the Sun?, inspired by the novel by John Edward, it was announced by Libby Beers, Vice President, Original Movies, Lifetime Television. What if God Were the Sun? is the stirring drama about a cynical emergency room nurse who forms an exceptional connection with a terminally ill patient and how that bond changes her life forever. What if God Were the Sun? will premiere this May on Lifetime Television.

"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring this spirited novel to the small screen and to have Lacey Chabert and Gena Rowlands star in this poignant film," said Beers. Adding, "This is a moving story of a young woman who, with the help of a total stranger, learns how to cope with emotions she has never felt before."

In What if God Were the Sun?, Jamie Spagnoletti (Chabert) is a busy nurse trying to juggle her demanding job and impending nuptials. In a split second, her world unravels when her police officer father dies in the adjacent emergency room while she is attending to a patient. Heartbroken, Jamie's inability to deal with the loss of her father starts to affect her work and her relationship with her fiance, Jeff (Sam Trammell). Concerned, her supervisor transfers her to a new assignment in long term care where she meets Melissa, (Rowlands), a terminally ill woman determined to leave this life in style. Melissa's quick wit and strong faith in the face of her illness mystifies the still grieving Jamie. Through her newfound connection with Melissa, Jamie learns that if she can open her eyes to the unknown, her father's love will propel her out of grief and help her find her way back to Jeff and the beauty of life.

Best known for her role as Claudia on the Golden Globe Award-winning FOX television series, Party of Five, Lacey Chabert is fast becoming one of the best young actresses of her generation. Her feature film credits include Mean Girls, Daddy Day Care, Lost in Space and Not Another Teen Movie. Chabert also starred as Brooke Ellison in Christopher Reeve's final directorial project, A&E's The Brooke Ellison Story. She can currently be seen in a remake of the 1974 horror movie Black Christmas opposite Michelle Trachtenberg.

Gena Rowlands is an Academy Award nominated, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actress recognized around the world. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her roles in Gloria and A Woman Under the Influence, both written and directed by her late husband John Cassavetes. She won both a Golden Globe and Emmy Award for her role as the title character in the telefilm The Betty Ford Story; an Emmy for both In the Face of a Stranger and HBO's Hysterical Blindness and a Golden Globe for A Woman Under the Influence. Additional film credits include The Notebook, The Skeleton Key, Hope Floats and The Brink's Job. In 2000, she was nominated for an Emmy for her performance in the CBS television movie, The Color of Love: Jacey's Story.

Internationally acclaimed psychic medium John Edward has captivated audiences worldwide. Edward is author of the critically acclaimed New York Times best sellers One Last Time; What if God Were the Sun?; Crossing Over: The Stories Behind the Stories; After Life: Answers from the Other Side; Final Beginnings and Practical Praying: Using the Rosary to Enhance Your Life. The success of his television show Crossing Over with John Edward on SCI FI left the nation fascinated, and his new series, John Edward Cross Country, can be seen on WE.