WATCH: Octavia Spencer transforms in ‘Self Made: Inspired By The Life of Madam C.J. Walker’

Feb 27, 2020

Netflix just dropped the first official trailer for its upcoming series Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker and in it, we see Octavia Spencer truly transform.

Produced by big names like LeBron James, Maverick Carter, and Kasi Lemmons, among others, the four-part series is based on the book, On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C. J. Walker, written by Walker’s great-great-granddaughter A’Lelia Bundles.

FIRST LOOK: Octavia Spencer as Madame C.J. Walker in Netflix series ‘Self Made’

In it, Octavia Spencer stars as Madam C.J. Walker, the trailblazing African American haircare entrepreneur who was America’s first female self-made millionaire. The highly-anticipated project brings the uplifting story of this cultural icon to the screen for the first time. Against all odds, Walker overcame post-slavery racial and gender biases, personal betrayals, and business rivalries to build a ground-breaking brand that revolutionized black haircare, as she simultaneously fought for social change.

The four-part limited series also stars Blair Underwood as her husband C.J. Walker, Tiffany Haddish as her daughter Lelia, Carmen Ejogo as Walker’s business rival Addie Munroe, Garrett Morris as Walker’s father-in-law, Kevin Carroll as her longtime lawyer Freeman Ransom and Bill Bellamy as Ransom’s cousin Sweetness.

Check out the first official trailer:

The series is helmed by co-showrunners Elle Johnson & Janine Sherman Barrois, along with writer and co-executive producer Nicole Jefferson Asher. It’s directed by Kasi Lemmons (Harriet) and DeMane Davis, and executive produced by Janine Sherman Barrois, Elle Johnson, Maverick Carter, LeBron James, Octavia Spencer, Mark Holder, Christine Holder, Kasi Lemmons, and Jamal Henderson.