Jennifer Hudson is Winnie

Meet the other Mandela…

Nov 18th 2009 By James White

On the heels of Morgan Freeman preparing to hit our screens as Nelson Mandela in Invictus comes news that Jennifer Hudson will portray the man's wife in a biopic.

The Dreamgirls star has signed on to Winnie, which will follow Mandela's ex-wife through her complicated life.

She began as his crusading partner, imprisoned for supporting him and struggling to be a wife and mother as he spent 27 years in jail.

But in later years, her image was troubled by her relationship with a bodyguard who killed a 14-year-old informer and her fraud convictions.

But with South African director Darrell J Root co-writing and directing the film, Hudson seems convinced that we'll get the full story.

“I was compelled and moved when I read the script,” she tells Variety.

“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.”

[Source: Variety]