Showtime’s The First Lady adds Jayme Lawson & Kristine Froseth
According to Variety, newcomer Jayme Lawson and Kristine Froseth (The Society, The Assistant) have been tapped to join A-list stars Viola Davis and Michelle Pfeiffer in Showtime’s upcoming anthology series titled The First Lady. Lawson and Froseth are set to portray the roles of a young Michelle Obama and a young Betty Ford, respectively.
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Lawson, who will next be seen in Matt Reeves’ highly-anticipated The Batman, has been cast as a series regular. She will play Obama from ages 15-30. The series begins with Obama as a young woman in Chicago and follows her as a Harvard undergraduate and Princeton Law School student, eventually marrying Barack Obama in 1992.
As for Froseth, she will only appear in three episodes, portraying a young Ford as she trains as a dancer for Martha Graham in New York City, and into her 20s in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she worked for Herpolsheimer’s Department Store and eventually married Gerald Ford.
The First Lady (formerly titled as First Ladies) is set in the East Wing of the White House, where many of history’s most impactful and world-changing decisions have been hidden from view, made by America’s charismatic, complex and dynamic first ladies. The series will peel back the curtain on the personal and political lives of America’s most iconic First Ladies. The first season will be focusing on Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford and Michelle Obama.
Academy Award winner Viola Davis (How to Get Away With Murder) and Oscar nominee Michelle Pfeiffer (Dangerous Liaisons) have signed on for the leading roles of Michelle Obama and Betty Ford, respectively.
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The series is written by Cooley from an idea that originated with Cathy Schulman, who was inspired by Cooley’s spec script about Lady Bird Johnson. Golden Globe winner Susanne Bier (The Undoing) has also boarded the project to serve as its director and executive producer.
The First Lady will be co-produced by Showtime and Lionsgate TV along with Welle Entertainment (Otherhood), Gaspin Media (LA’s Finest), and JuVee Productions. It will be executive produced by Cooley, Welle Entertainment’s Schulman, Gaspin Media’s Jeff Gaspin, and LINK Entertainment’s Brad Kaplan. Davis will also serve as an executive producer along with Julius Tennon through through their JuVee Productions banner.
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
