Oprah Will Executive Produce & Star in ‘The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks’

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey’s empire continues to grow! The 62-year-old mogul has snagged the lead role in HBO Film’ upcoming project, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Oprah will also executive produce the movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2010) is a nonfiction book by American author Rebecca Skloot. It is about Henrietta Lacks and the immortal cell line, known as HeLa, that came from Lacks’s cervical cancer cells in 1951. The book is notable for its science writing and dealing with ethical issues of race and class in medical research.

Oprah Winfrey

The site reports,

the project tells the story of Henrietta Lacks, a poor black woman who died of cervical cancer in 1951. Without her consent, pieces of the tumor that killed her were removed and used for medical exploration and to build a billion-dollar research industry.

George C. Wolfe (Lackawanna Blues, Angels in America) wrote the screenplay and will direct the film, which begins production this summer. Additionally, Henrietta Lacks’ sons, David Lacks, Jr. and Zakariyya Rahman, and granddaughter Jeri Lacks will serve as consultants. [The Hollywood Reporter]

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