FKA Twigs to Star as Josephine Baker in New Biopic From ‘Cuties’ Director

FKA Twigs will step into her most challenging acting role to date later this year when she begins filming a biopic of Jazz Age legend Josephine Baker. The as-yet-untitled film from director Maimouna Doucouré ( Cuties , Hawa ) financed and co-produced by Studiocanal, is being offered for sale at the Cannes Film Festival, which opens on Tuesday (May 12) and runs through May 23.

According to Variety , singer Twigs (born Tahliah Debrett Barnett), 38, said in a statement, “I am honored to collaborate with the immensely talented Maïmouna Doucouré on this incredible project. Josephine Baker’s extraordinary legacy is such an inspiration to me and to so many people around the world. She lives on in our hearts as a visionary, groundbreaking woman whose story is as powerful as it is relevant today. I cannot wait to embody Josephine Baker bringing her fight, her love, her losses, her talent and her heroism to the big screen.”

In addition to writing and directing the film, Doucouré will also produce it under his Bien Ou Bien Prods. banner.

Twigs, who can be seen in theaters now in the Anne Hathaway/Michela Cole musical drama Mother Mary , will take on the challenging role of the St. Louis-born singer, dancer, actress and activist who found fame in France and was the first Black woman to star in a major movie, the 1927 silent film Siren of the Tropics . Known for her high-energy performances and envelope-pushing stage costumes, Baker was a French Resistance spy during WWII , during which she smuggled coded messages to France from opposing forces hidden inside her lyrics. She was also the only female speaker at the 1968 Poor People’s March for civil rights in Washington, D.C. in 1968.

The singer, nicknamed “Black Venus,” took time away from the stage to raise what she called her “Rainbow Tribe” of 12 adopted children from a variety of countries and backgrounds and died in April 1975 at age 68 following a show at the Bobino Theater in Paris. According to Variety , the project is in development with support from Baker’s sons, Jean-Claude Bouillon Baker and Brian Bouillon Baker, as well as the other members of the Rainbow Tribe.

“Josephine Baker has lived with me for years. Working on this film, I realize how modern, fearless and complex she was,” Doucouré said in a statement. “Beyond the legend, I want to explore her contradictions, her wounds and her immense courage, as well as her relentless fight for dignity. With the extraordinary FKA Twigs bringing her rare artistry, intelligence and emotional depth to the role, it is a huge honor to work with Studiocanal to bring Josephine’s story to the screen for a global audience: the story of a woman who never stopped reinventing herself and fighting for justice and equality.”

The magazine said Studiocanal will release the film theatrically in their territories — the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Benelux, Poland, Australia and New Zealand — with no information at press time about distribution in North America.

FKA Twigs released her fourth studio album, Eusexua: Afterglow , in November.

_Originally reported by [Billboard](https://www.billboard.com/culture/tv-film/fka-twigs-cast-josephine-baker-biopic-cuties-director-1236244281/)._