FKA Twigs to Play Josephine Baker in New Biopic

FKA Twigs is stepping into one of the most extraordinary lives in 20th century history. The Grammy-winning artist has been officially confirmed to star as Josephine Baker in an upcoming feature biopic, with Cuties filmmaker Maïmouna Doucouré writing and directing. Studiocanal made the announcement Monday morning ahead of the Cannes Film Festival, where it will launch worldwide sales on the project this week.

“I am honored to collaborate with the immensely talented Maïmouna Doucouré on this incredible project,” Twigs said in a statement. “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, ground-breaking 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.”

The casting feels almost inevitable. Like Baker herself, Twigs defies easy categorization — she’s a singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, choreographer, visual artist, actor, and fashion force all at once. The parallels between the two women run deep, and Doucouré clearly sees it.

“Josephine Baker has lived with me for years,” the director said. “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. With the extraordinary FKA Twigs bringing her rare artistry, intelligence and emotional depth to the role, it is a huge honour 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.”

A Life That Demands a Big Screen

Born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri in 1906, Baker grew up in poverty and performed in Vaudeville shows before making the move to Paris in 1925 that would change everything. Her electrifying Danse Sauvage — performed in her now-iconic banana skirt — made her the toast of the Folies Bergère and one of the most celebrated performers of the Jazz Age. In 1927, she became the first Black woman to star in a major feature film, Siren of the Tropics.

But Baker’s legacy reaches far beyond the stage. During World War II, she worked as an intelligence agent for the French Resistance, using her celebrity status as cover to smuggle information on Nazi troop movements to Allied forces — the full extent of her wartime service only declassified by the French government in 2020. In the 1950s and ’60s, she became a prominent voice in the American civil rights movement, refusing to perform in segregated clubs and standing alongside Martin Luther King Jr. at the 1963 March on Washington. She also adopted 12 children of different ethnicities and backgrounds, calling them her Rainbow Tribe to prove, in her own words, that “children of different ethnicities and religions could still be brothers.” In November 2021, France inducted her into the Panthéon — the first Black woman ever to receive that honor.

It’s exactly the kind of story Doucouré has been building toward. The French-Senegalese filmmaker won the world cinema dramatic directing prize at Sundance for her 2020 debut Cuties, a coming-of-age drama that became one of the most talked-about — and controversially marketed — films of its year on Netflix. Her follow-up, the family adventure Hawa, premiered at TIFF in 2022 before landing on Amazon Prime Video. This biopic is her most ambitious project yet, and she’s been carrying it with her for years.

FKA Twigs Is Having a Moment

The announcement comes at a high point for Twigs. Earlier this year, she took home her first Grammy Award — Best Dance/Electronic Album for Eusexua — capping off a run that’s seen her push into acting with increasing ambition. She made her feature debut in Alma Har’el’s Honey Boy, which premiered at Sundance, then appeared in Rupert Sanders’ 2024 reboot of The Crow opposite Bill Skarsgård. Most recently, she starred in David Lowery’s A24 feature Mother Mary alongside Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel.

This will be her first lead role in a feature film.

The project has the blessing of Baker’s family, which matters enormously here. Baker’s sons Jean-Claude Bouillon Baker and Brian Bouillon Baker, along with the rest of the Rainbow Tribe, are supporting the film — making this the first major screen biography of Baker to carry the estate’s endorsement. Other attempts at Baker’s story have surfaced over the years, and A24 has had a Baker biographical TV series in development since 2022, but none have gotten this far with the family’s cooperation.

The last significant screen treatment of Baker’s life was HBO’s 1991 telefilm The Josephine Baker Story, starring Lynn Whitfield, which won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress and Outstanding Directing and remains well-regarded more than three decades later. This will be the first narrative feature film about her life.

Studiocanal CEO Anna Marsh summed it up cleanly: “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. Their artistry, combined with Josephine Baker’s enduring legacy, promises a film that is both ambitious and profoundly authentic.”

Production is set to begin this fall. Studiocanal will release the film in its own territories — the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Benelux, Poland, Australia, and New Zealand — with worldwide sales being handled out of Cannes.