FKA Twigs Will Star as Josephine Baker in New Biopic from ‘Cuties’ Filmmaker Maïmouna Doucouré

After being officially announced way back in 2022, “Cuties” and “Hawa” filmmaker Maïmouna Doucouré’s long-gestating Josephine Baker biopic finally has a star: Grammy-winning multi-hyphenate FKA Twigs is officially set to star as the iconic singer, actress, and civil rights advocate, Studiocanal announced Monday morning. The film scheduled to shoot this fall and is billed as “telling the incredible life story of the magnificent, incomparable Josephine Baker.”

The new feature will be produced by Studiocanal and Bien ou Bien Productions, and has been buzzed about since 2022 (during a December 2025 event, the shingle had much to say about the project, via Variety). The film is being made with the support of Baker’s sons Jean-Claude Bouillon Baker, Brian Bouillon Baker, and the rest of her “Rainbow tribe” of adopted children.

“I am honored to collaborate with the immensely talented Maïmouna Doucoure on this incredible project,” FKA Twigs said in an official 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.” 

Like Baker, FKA Twigs is known for her work in a variety of arenas: she’s a singer-songwriter, producer, dancer-choreographer, visual artist, actor, and fashion standout. While best known to many for her music, she’s been expanding her reach into acting in recent year, and made her feature film debut in Alma Har’el’s “Honey Boy,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. She recently starred opposite Bill Skarsgård in Rupert Sanders’ “The Crow” and Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel in David Lowery’s A24 feature “Mother Mary.”

Doucouré added in her own statement, “Josephine Baker has lived with me for years. Working on this film, I realixe 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 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.”

Studiocanal’s official announcement of the project also shares a short biography of Baker, one that still captures her profound talents and enduring cultural reach. It notes that “Baker became one of the most celebrated international performers of the 20th century. After arriving in Paris in 1925, she rose to fame as a dancer, singer, and actress, captivating audiences worldwide with her charisma, originality, and extraordinary stage presence. A defining figure of the Jazz Age, Baker built a career that made her a global cultural icon. Beyond the stage, she showed remarkable courage and commitment. During World War II, she joined the French Resistance, supporting Allied intelligence efforts and using her fame in service of the fight against fascism. In the 1950s and 1960s, she also became a prominent voice in the American civil rights movement, standing alongside Martin Luther King Jr. at the 1963 March on Washington.”

While this marks the first time Baker’s life has been made into a narrative feature film, in 1991, her story was made into the well-regarded television film, “The Josephine Baker Story,” starring Lynn Whitfield in the title role. At the 43rd Primetime Emmy Awards, the film won the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special for Whitfield and the Outstanding Directing in a Miniseries or a Special for Brian Gibson. It ws also nominated for Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special and Miniseries and the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Special for both Ruben Blades and David Dukes.