Michelle Pfeiffer signed on to star as Betty Ford in the upcoming Showtime series “The First Lady”, Variety Learned. In addition, Susanne Bier signed a contract to direct and executive produce the anthology series.
Formerly known as “First Ladies”, the show is described as a reshaping of American leadership, told through the lens of women in the heart of the White House. Pfeiffer joins the previously announced cast Viola Davis, who will star as Michelle Obama. The first season of the series will also explore the life of Eleanor Roosevelt, with this role yet to be chosen.
Ford was the first lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977 as the wife of President Gerald Ford. She was active in social policy and set a precedent as a politically active presidential wife and one of the most sincere first ladies in history, commenting on all the controversial issues of the time. She also raised awareness about addiction when she made her long-standing battle against alcoholism and substance abuse public.
“Michelle Pfeiffer and Susanne Bier teamed up with the brilliant and incomparable Viola Davis to bring the remarkable stories of these women to an urgent, engaging and long-awaited focus,” said Amy Israel, executive vice president of scripted programming at Showtime. “Michelle brings authenticity, vulnerability and complexity to all of her roles, and Susanne is a visionary director who commands the screen with fierce honesty and a unique visual style. With these formidable artists in front of and behind the camera, we couldn’t be more excited – especially at this unique time for our nation – with the powerful promise of ‘The First Lady’ ”.
Pfeiffer won a Golden Globe and one of his three Oscar nominations for his performance in “The Fabulous Baker Boys”. She was also nominated for an Oscar for the films “Dangerous Liaisons” and “Campo do Amor”. She was also nominated for an Emmy for her role in the HBO movie “The Wizard of Lies”. She is known for her roles in films like “Batman Returns”, “White Oleander”, “Scarface” and “Hairspray”.
She is represented by CAA, Management 360 and Hirsch Wallerstein.
Bier recently directed HBO’s limited hit series “The Undoing”, starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant. Previously, she won an Emmy for her work while directing the AMC miniseries “The Night Manager”. His feature film credits include “Bird Box”, In a Better World “,” Love Is All You Need “and” Things We Lost in the Fire “.
She is represented by CAA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.
“The First Lady” was written and produced by Aaron Cooley. Davis is also an executive producer along with Julius Tennon and Andrew Wang of JuVee Productions. In addition to Bier, other executive producers are Cathy Schuman of Welle Entertainment, Jeff Gaspin of Gaspin Media and Brad Kaplan of LINK Entertainment. It is produced by Showtime and Lionsgate Television.
According to a person with knowledge of the project, Schulman and Gaspin read a specific script Cooley had written about First Lady Edith Wilson, which inspired them to reexamine families in the White House through the eyes of the first ladies.
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