FKA Twigs is officially stepping into one of the most iconic and complex roles of her career. The Grammy-winning artist has now been confirmed to play legendary entertainer and activist Josephine Baker in a new feature biopic that is already generating major attention ahead of the Cannes Film Festival.
The film will be written and directed by Maïmouna Doucouré, the filmmaker behind Cuties and Hawa, with production set to begin this fall. International sales for the project are expected to launch during Cannes, instantly placing the film among the more closely watched prestige projects entering the global market this year.
For FKA Twigs, the casting feels both unexpected and strangely perfect at the same time. Josephine Baker was not only a groundbreaking performer but also someone who constantly challenged expectations around race, femininity, sexuality, fame, and identity — themes Twigs herself has often explored throughout her music and visual artistry. In her official statement, the singer said she cannot wait to bring Baker’s “fight, love, losses, talent and heroism” to the big screen while describing her as a visionary whose story still feels deeply relevant today.
And honestly, that relevance is probably why Hollywood keeps returning to Josephine Baker’s life again and again.
Born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis in 1906, Baker rose from poverty and segregation-era America to become one of the defining stars of the Jazz Age after moving to Paris in the 1920s. Her performances, charisma, and image transformed her into an international sensation, but her story stretched far beyond entertainment alone.
During World War II, Baker secretly worked with the French Resistance, reportedly using her celebrity status to transport intelligence and support anti-Nazi efforts. Later, she became heavily involved in the American civil rights movement and stood alongside Martin Luther King Jr. during the historic 1963 March on Washington. Over time, she evolved into not just a performer, but a political and cultural symbol across multiple continents.
In France, Baker’s legacy reached another major milestone in 2021 when she became the first Black woman inducted into the Panthéon, one of the country’s highest national honors. That moment dramatically elevated her modern profile again, especially among younger generations rediscovering her story through conversations around race, feminism, activism, and identity.
What makes this new biopic especially significant is that it reportedly has the full cooperation and support of Baker’s surviving family members, including her sons Jean-Claude Bouillon Baker and Brian Bouillon Baker. Both are members of Baker’s famous “Rainbow Tribe,” the multicultural family of 12 adopted children she raised in France as part of her vision for racial harmony and coexistence.
According to reports, this is the first major Josephine Baker film project to receive official backing from her estate after multiple adaptations and development attempts surfaced over the years. That family involvement could become crucial in helping the film feel more intimate and layered instead of turning Baker into a simplified historical icon.
Director Maïmouna Doucouré also seems deeply emotionally connected to the material. In her statement, she described Baker as modern, fearless, contradictory, and wounded all at once. Doucouré reportedly wants the film to explore not just Baker’s legendary public image but also the emotional complexity and personal struggles hidden underneath the iconography.
That approach honestly makes sense considering Baker’s life contained enormous contradictions. She was celebrated internationally while facing racism, adored publicly while navigating personal pain, and constantly balancing celebrity glamour with activism and political resistance. Any serious film about her probably needs to embrace those tensions rather than flatten them into a simple inspirational narrative.
The project also continues FKA Twigs’ increasingly fascinating acting career. While music remains her primary identity publicly, she has quietly built a surprisingly strong film résumé over the last several years. Previous appearances include Honey Boy, The Crow, The Carpenter’s Son alongside Nicolas Cage, and Mother Mary opposite Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel.
Meanwhile, Twigs’ music career also continues hitting new highs. Earlier this year, she won her first Grammy for Eusexua, which took home Best Dance/Electronic Album and further solidified her reputation as one of the most artistically ambitious performers working today.
The film will be produced by StudioCanal alongside Bien ou Bien Productions, with StudioCanal also handling theatrical distribution across several major territories including France, the U.K., Germany, Australia, and New Zealand.
Josephine Baker’s story has already inspired multiple screen projects over the decades, including HBO’s Emmy-winning The Josephine Baker Story starring Lynn Whitfield. A24 has also been developing a separate Baker television series since 2022.
Still, this new film feels different already because of the combination of FKA Twigs’ artistic presence, Doucouré’s perspective, and the direct involvement of Baker’s family. And if the movie successfully captures both the glamour and the emotional complexity behind Josephine Baker’s life, it could easily become one of the most talked-about biographical films of the next few years.
