Gillian Anderson picked up the Golden Globe today for portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in The Crown, and it looks like she’s set to play another famous woman in the near future.
The Hollywood Reporter has shared that Anderson is set to appear in a new anthology series that highlights the wives of American presidents. The X Files star will portray first lady of the 1930s and 1940s, Eleanor Roosevelt.
Roosevelt is the USA’s longest serving first lady, holding the role from 1933 to 1945. Her husband Franklin D. Roosevelt served four terms, something that is no longer permitted, with Presidents limited to just two stints in the role.
While the series will see Anderson take on Roosevelt, it will also feature several other well known actors playing different first ladies. Michelle Pfeiffer will be Betty Ford, and Viola Davis will be play Michelle Obama.
Roosevelt’s husband was also a distant cousin, they were fifth cousins, once removed. They married in 1905 and her husband became President in 1933. Eleanor was a supporter of the Civil Rights movement and after her husband died in office in 1945 she often travelled the world speaking about human rights. She died in 1962 aged 78.
It’s been recognised that Eleanor was probably bisexual. She had a close relationship with a news reporter called Lorena Hickok who was a lesbian. The pair wrote heartfelt letters to each other almost daily that were filled with romantic endearments. Later in life it was rumoured that her bodyguard Earl Miller was also her lover.
OIP Staff
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