HBO Film 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks' adds Oprah Winfrey in starring role
After performaces in The Butler and Selma, Oprah Winfrey has been cast in a HBO direct-to-TV film, titled The Immortal Life of Henrietta. Winfrey will play Lack's daughter, Deborah.
Based on the best-selling book of the same name, Henrietta was an African-American woman who was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1951. She was treated at John Hopkins University, where cells from her cervix were extracted without her knowledge. Her cells would be used for a various experiments over the next 60 years after it was learned they could be made to grow on their own.
Medical writer Rebecca Skloot traced the story in her family, as well as the family's discovery of it. The screenplay was written by George C. Wolfe, who will direct the pic.
Source: Collider
