Danielle Brooks To Portray Gospel Legend Mahalia Jackson In Biopic

Danielle Brooks Tapped To Portray Gospel Legend Mahalia Jackson In Lifetime Biopic

Actress Danielle Brooks of Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black recently became a new mom, and she is ready to star in her first post-baby project.  Danielle Brooks will be portraying gospel legend and civil rights activist Mahalia Jackson, in Lifetime movie, Robin Roberts Presents: The Mahalia Jackson Story. 

The movie will tell the story of Mahalia Jackson, who was born in New Orleans and is respected as a huge name in gospel music history. Well known for her song “Move on Up a Little Higher” which sold millions of copies, as well as her performances in front of racially integrated audiences at both Carnegie Hall and John F. Kennedy’s inaugural ball. She was also an avid supporter of the Civil Rights movement and sang at the March on Washington in 1963 alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Robin Roberts will executive produce a series of movies and documentaries for Lifetime under Robin Roberts Presents. Based on true events, the movies and documentaries will explore stories that inspire and educate audiences. The first of these projects is the Mahalia Jackson project. She will executive produce the movie alongside Linda Berman of Lincoln Square Productions. The script is written by Bettina Gilois.

Danielle Brooks

Danielle Brooks is best known for her role as Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson in OIJNB, and won three Screen Actors Guild Awards for the role. She’s also done a stint on Broadway in a revival of The Color Purple, which landed her a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

The actress debuted her adorable newborn on Nov. 18, two days after he was born.

As for who the dad is, Danielle Brooks has been being pretty quiet about her love life, with the exception of a few posts.

What are your thoughts on Danielle Brooks portraying Mahalia Jackson? Let us know in the comments!