Ruth Negga Has Joined the ABC Signature Series on Josephine Baker

Deadline has reported that Ruth Negga has joined the ABC Signature series, Josephine.

Photo Credit: IFTA Awards

What’s Happening:

Deadline reports that Ruth Negga will be joining the cast playing the lead role of the ABC Signature limited series, Josephine, which will tell the story of Josephine Baker who was one of the most successful African American performers in French history and a World War II spy.
Deadline also reports that Negga will be an executive producer on the series with showrunner Dee Harris-Lawrence, director Millicent Shelton (Black-ish), LeBron James, The Springhill Company, and ABC Signature.

About Josephine Baker:

Born in 1906 in St. Louis, Missouri, both of her parents were entertainers. She ran away at age 15 and eventually moved to New York City participating in the Harlem Renaissance. Baker then moved to Paris where she became very popular for her dancing and singing, leading to movie roles in Europe.
During World War II, she entertained troops in both Africa and the Middle East and helped French military officials by passing secrets she heard while performing for Germans on music sheets with invisible ink.
She later became an activist participating in civil rights demonstrations in the United States when she was shocked on her return by the racism in the country. Baker adopted a total of 12 children calling her family “the rainbow tribe,” while continuing to perform and fight racism until her death in 1975.