By Karu F. Daniels
New York Daily News
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) In “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker,” Octavia Spencer will star in the title role as the trailblazing hair care products entrepreneur.
New York Daily News
With her latest role, Octavia Spencer has got it made — and not like the maid she portrayed in “The Help” either.
The Oscar winner will star as hair care business pioneer Madam C.J. Walker in an upcoming biopic to premiere on Netflix on March 20.
On Friday, the streaming giant officially announced the title and the premiere date for the story of America’s first female self-made millionaire.
In “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker,” Spencer will star in the title role as the trailblazing hair care products entrepreneur. Born Sarah Breedlove, Walker — who died in 1919 at age 51 — amassed much of her fortune by developing and marketing a line of beauty and hair products for black women through her Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company.
Former “LA Law” star Blair Underwood will portray Walker’s husband, C.J. Walker, and Tiffany Haddish will play her daughter, Lelia.
Based on the biography “On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker,” written by Walker’s great-great-granddaughter, A’Lelia Bundles, the four-part series will also feature Carmen Ejogo as Walker’s business rival, Addie Munroe; former “Saturday Night Live” star Garrett Morris as Walker’s father-in-law; Kevin Carroll as her longtime lawyer, Freeman Ransom; and Bill Bellamy as Ransom’s cousin, Sweetness.
The mini-series will be helmed by Kasi Lemmons, whose credits include “Eve’s Bayou,” “Talk To Me” and most recently “Harriet.”
The auteur is also among the project’s executive producers, which include Spencer and basketball superstar and entrepreneur LeBron James.
___
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
