Janelle Monae and Jospehine Baker
Following making headlines with her head-turning ensemble at this year’s Met Gala, Janelle Monaé has a new reason to celebrate, as she has just been cast as one of the most iconic Black women in history. It has just been announced that Janelle Monaé will star as Josephine Baker in a forthcoming TV series from popular Hollywood production company A24.
@Deadline reports, Janelle Monaé is taking her immense talents to television to portray the life of historical Black icon Josephine Baker in an upcoming TV series. Currently titled ‘De La Resistance,’ the drama series will center on Josephine Baker’s role as a spy during the French Resistance for the Allies to help take down the Nazis, while also highlighting her career as one of the earliest Black entertainers who embodied glamour and broke down racial barriers. In perhaps a nod to her future role, Janelle modeled her Met Gala look after Baker, who she has long been a fan of.
In addition to the series being produced by A24, Janelle Monaé will also act as a producer through her Wondaland production company. ‘De La Resistance’ is said to currently be shopped around Hollywood with several of the top streaming services hoping to land the series in a bit of a bidding war. The creator and showrunner for the series will be Jennifer Yale, who previously worked on the prematurely canceled historical drama ‘Underground.’ You’ll recall that A24 is also the production behind the incredibly popular HBO teen drama series ‘Euphoria.’
Josephine Baker was an American-born French entertainer and civil rights activist, who spent a large part of her career in Europe—and was also the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture back in 1927 with the silent film ‘Siren Of The Tropics.’
Baker also regularly refused to perform to segregated audiences in the U.S. and was offered a leadership role by Coretta Scott King in the Civil Rights Movement following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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