FKA Twigs is in talks to portray legendary entertainer and civil rights activist Josephine Baker in an upcoming biopic directed by French filmmaker Maïmouna Doucouré.
While plot details remain under wraps, the film is said to explore the extraordinary life of Baker, who broke racial barriers as a performer and used her fame to support the French Resistance during World War II, as well as the American civil rights movement. Doucouré, who made her directorial debut with the controversial 2020 film Cuties, will bring Baker’s story to the screen.
Baker made history as the first African-American woman to star in a major motion picture, playing the lead role of Papitou in the 1927 French silent film Siren of the Tropics. In the film, her character falls in love with a French man and eventually becomes a music hall performer in Paris.
Beyond her career in entertainment, Baker aided the French Resistance during World War II and has worked with both the British Secret Intelligence Service and the U.S. Secret Service. In the 1950s, she emerged as a vocal advocate for racial equality.
FKA Twigs’ connection to Baker’s legacy was recently highlighted at the 2025 Met Gala, where her look was inspired by the performer. The event’s theme this year celebrated Black dandyism and the impact of fashion on Black identity in the U.S. and Europe.
FKA Twigs previously starred in the 2024 remake of The Crow. Later this year, she is set to star in Mother Mary, a film about the relationship between a musician and a fashion designer, directed by David Lowery (A Ghost Story, The Green Knight) and starring Anne Hathaway and Michaela Coel.