FKA Twigs Leads Josephine Baker Biopic

FKA Twigs will step into the life of Josephine Baker, bringing one of the 20th century’s most magnetic performers and activists back to the screen.

The new biopic will come from director Maimouna Doucouré, with filming scheduled to begin this fall. Reports had already indicated that the Grammy-winning artist was in negotiations for the role, and that move has now solidified into a major casting decision for a project centered on Baker’s extraordinary life. The film focuses attention on an American-born artist who remade herself in France and built a legacy that stretched far beyond the stage.

FKA Twigs now takes on a figure whose career fused performance, reinvention and political courage.

Baker’s story offers filmmakers unusually rich material. She rose as a dancer, singer and actor during the Jazz Age, then became known not only for her artistry but also for her civil rights work. That combination gives the film a wide emotional and historical range, and it also raises the stakes. Any screen portrait of Baker must capture both the glamour that made her famous and the conviction that made her matter.

The project also marks a notable pairing of artist and subject. FKA Twigs has built her career on highly physical performance and a distinct visual identity, qualities that could align with Baker’s singular presence. Doucouré, meanwhile, brings a filmmaker’s eye that suggests the movie may aim for more than a conventional cradle-to-grave portrait. Sources suggest the production has meaningful backing, a sign that the film could emerge as a significant awards-season and festival title once cameras start rolling.

What happens next will shape how this film lands. Casting around Twigs, the screenplay’s scope and the production’s treatment of Baker’s political life will all matter as filming approaches. For now, the announcement signals that Baker’s story has found a new path to the screen — and that one of entertainment’s most daring modern performers will carry it.