Oscar winning Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk, Watchmen) has landed the iconic role to portray America’s first Black congresswoman, late Shirley Chisholm in a film titled “Shirley.”
The film will detail her historic 1972 run for the Democratic presidential nomination – the first woman to do so
“Shirley Chisholm’s fearless determination has been an inspiration to so many of us, and with this film we hope to inspire many generations to come,” King, who is co-producing, said in a statement.
Oscar-winning writer John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) will write and direct ‘Shirley’, the biopic which is being produced by Participant Media, known for films like Spotlight, Roma, American Factory, Contagion, The Help, and shows like Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us.
‘One Night in Miami’ Director Regina King also starred on Ridley’s TV series “American Crime,” for which she won two of her four Emmys.
“To collaborate once again with my friend and mentor, John Ridley, and the team at Participant, makes this decade-long journey even sweeter,” an excited King said.
According to Variety, the movie’s story “tracks Chisholm’s 1972 presidential campaign, a groundbreaking historical moment, giving what’s described as ‘an intimate, behind-the-scenes portrait of one of the most ground-breaking political leaders of our time.”
In 2015, President Barack Obama posthumously honored Chisholm with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
