JENNIFER HUDSON WILL PORTRAY MANDELA’S WIFE IN FILM
According to Variety magazine, Jennifer Hudson has been tapped to portray Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela, in the upcoming biopic ‘Winnie.’ The film — based on the Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob-penned biography ‘Winnie Mandela: A Life’ — will be directed by South African filmmaker Darrell Roodt (’Cry,’ ‘Sarafina!’ and ‘The Beloved Country’). ”I was compelled and moved when I read the script,” Hudson said. “Winnie Mandela is a complex and extraordinary woman and I’m honored to be the actress asked to portray her. This is a powerful part of history that should be told.” Hudson will begin working on ‘Winnie’ when shooting begins in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa in May 2010. As expected the film will also shoot scenes at Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela served 18 of his 27 years of imprisonment.
