Tiffany Haddish is ready and set to go as legendary track star Florence Griffith Joyner (“Flo-Jo”) in a new biopic.
The actress and comedian will star in and produce an authorized feature film about the late Olympian’s life and her lasting impact on generations of athletes that followed.
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The Girls Trip actress is partnering with Joyner’s husband and former coach, Al Joyner, who is already training Haddish for the role. He will also serve as a producer and creative consultant on the film, The Wrap reported Thursday.
“I am looking forward to telling Flo-Jo’s story the way it should be told. My goal with this film is making sure that younger generations know my ‘she-ro’ Flo-Jo, the fastest woman in the world to this day, existed,” Haddish said in a statement.
Shortly after the film’s announcement was made public, she shared the news with fans tweeting: “My heart is so full right now! I can’t even explain how hard I am going to work to honor her legacy!”
Flo-Jo was a three-time Olympic gold medal-winning track and field athlete before her untimely death in 1998, at age 38 following an epileptic seizure.
Before she passed away, she was considered the fastest woman in the world, setting records in the 100m and 200m dash in 1988 — records that still stand today more than thirty years later.
Game1 co-CEOs Basil Iwanyk and Greg Economou will produce the film alongside Haddish and Joyner. Melanie Clark of Haddish’s She Ready Productions is an addition producer, and Jonathan Fuhrman of Thunder Road Pictures will serve as an executive producer.
The film will also have an accompanying documentary and podcast which will be produced in partnership with Haddish and Game1. The untitled biopic’s release date will be announced later.
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