AceShowbiz - Grammy-winning artist FKA Twigs has been confirmed to star as legendary entertainer Josephine Baker in an upcoming biographical film chronicling Baker’s extraordinary life. The feature will be written and directed by French filmmaker Maïmouna Doucouré, known for her acclaimed films Cuties and Hawa. The project is set to begin international sales at the Cannes Film Festival, which opens this Tuesday, with principal photography planned for this fall.

The production is a collaboration between StudioCanal and Bien ou Bien Productions, a Bordeaux-based company that previously worked with Doucouré on her earlier films. StudioCanal will also oversee theatrical distribution across key markets including France, the U.K., Germany, Italy, Benelux, Poland, Australia, and New Zealand.

FKA Twigs expressed deep enthusiasm about embodying Baker, stating, "I cannot wait to embody Josephine Baker, bringing her fight, her love, her losses, her talent and her heroism to the big screen." She added that Baker’s story remains profoundly relevant today, highlighting her as a visionary and trailblazer who continues to inspire.

The film’s development has been closely supported by Baker’s surviving sons, Jean-Claude Bouillon Baker and Brian Bouillon Baker, both members of what Baker famously called the Rainbow Tribe—a diverse family of 12 children she raised at her château in southwest France starting in the 1950s. While other projects about Baker have surfaced over the years, this is the first major film to receive the official endorsement of her estate.

Born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis in 1906, Baker rose to prominence as an iconic figure of the Jazz Age after moving to Paris in 1925. Her career spanned performance art, courageous wartime efforts with the French Resistance, and later civil rights activism in the United States alongside Martin Luther King Jr., including participation in the 1963 March on Washington. In a historic honor, France inducted Baker posthumously into the Panthéon in November 2021, making her the first Black woman to receive this distinction—cementing her legacy as both a progressive icon and an emblem of French national identity.

Maïmouna Doucouré, of Senegalese descent and raised in a Paris housing project, won the World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award at Sundance for her debut feature Cuties in 2020. Despite some controversy over the film’s marketing in the U.S., Cuties was praised for its coming-of-age storytelling. Doucouré’s second film, Hawa, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022 and was released globally on Amazon Prime Video.

Regarding her work on the Josephine Baker biopic, Doucouré shared, "Josephine Baker has lived with me for years. Working on this film, I realise how modern, fearless and complex she was. Beyond the legend, I want to explore her contradictions, her wounds and her immense courage, as well as her relentless fight for dignity."

FKA Twigs recently won her first Grammy Award in February for her album Eusexua, which earned Best Dance/Electronic Album. She has also built a growing acting resume, appearing in Alma Har’el’s Honey Boy (2019), Rupert Sanders’ 2024 reboot of The Crow alongside Bill Skarsgård, Lotfy Nathan’s biblical horror The Carpenter’s Son with Nicolas Cage, and David Lowery’s Mother Mary, where she acted opposite Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel.

Josephine Baker’s life has inspired several screen adaptations over the decades. The most notable was HBO’s Emmy-winning 1991 telefilm The Josephine Baker Story, starring Lynn Whitfield. Additionally, A24 has been developing a biographical TV series about Baker since 2022, further underscoring ongoing interest in her remarkable story.

Anna Marsh, CEO of StudioCanal and chief content officer of its parent company Canal+ Group, commented on the project’s significance: "Josephine Baker's story is one we have long aspired to tell. To do so with the exceptional creative vision of Maïmouna Doucouré and the remarkable talent of FKA Twigs makes this project especially meaningful."

This forthcoming biopic promises to offer a powerful and nuanced portrayal of one of the most dynamic figures of the 20th century, bringing renewed attention to Josephine Baker’s legacy through the talents of FKA Twigs and Maïmouna Doucouré.