Octavia Spencer Is Madam C.J. Walker in Netflix’s ‘Self Made’ Trailer (VIDEO)
The first trailer for Netflix’s limited series Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker has arrived.
The series, which is set to launch Friday, March 20, on the streaming platform, stars Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer as the trailblazing African American entrepreneur who was known as America’s first female self-made millionaire. Inspired by the accounts depicted in the book On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker, which was written by Walker’s great-great-granddaughter A’Lelia Bundles, the Netflix title will be broken up into four parts.
Bringing the inspiring true story to life, Self Made offers a look at the cultural icon like never before, as she’s portrayed onscreen for the first time. Viewers will bear witness to Walker as she overcame post-slavery racial and gender biases, betrayals and business rivalries to create her black haircare system while simultaneously fighting for social change.
The limited series also stars Blair Underwood, Tiffany Haddish, Carmen Ejogo, Garrett Morris, Kevin Carroll and Bill Bellamy. Underwood portrays Walker’s husband CJ, Haddish is set to appear as her daughter Lelia, Ejogo will play Walker’s business rival Addie Munroe, and Morris steps in as her father-in-law. Meanwhile, Carroll portrays Walker’s lawyer Freeman Ransom, and Bellamy portrays Ransom’s cousin Sweetness.
(Credit: Netflix)
“It’s time to tell my story,” Spencer says as Walker as the trailer opens before she launches into the past. “Seems like I was born to struggle. After a while, I guess I just lost hope,” she says. “That’s when my hair started falling out.”
But as those aware of Walker’s history know, she eventually prevailed at launching her own successful haircare business. “My hair grew back and so did my confidence,” she says, hinting at things to come. When she offers to sell the product Addie Munroe helps her with, the woman shrugs her off and says, “I don’t think sales is for you.”
It’s from that moment onward that she decides, “from now on, I’m doing my own hair, making my own hair grower.” See as the inspiring tale unfolds in the full trailer below, and don’t miss Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker when it arrives on Netflix.
Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker, Series Premiere, Friday, March 20, Netflix
Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker where to stream
