Jennifer Hudson To Play Winnie Mandela In ‘Winnie’ Movie Jennifer Hudson

Oscar-winning actress-singer Jennifer Hudson will play the Winnie Mandela, the ex-wife of South Africa's first black President Nelson Mandela in a new movie called ‘Winnie’, according to Variety.

The movie is based on the Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob biography, ‘Winnie Mandela: A Life’, Variety reports. Production is scheduled to start by May 30 in the South African regions of Johannesburg, Cape Town, Transkei and Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela served 18 of his 27 years of sentence.

This is the second film about the Mandelas in recent times, with Morgan Freeman set to play the role of nelson Mandela in the Clint Eastwood-film ‘Invictus, which is due to hit theatres in December.

Hudson, who is expected to sing the film's theme song, won the Oscar for her screen debut in ‘Dreamgirls’ and followed with ‘The Secret Life of Bees’ and ‘Sex in the City’.

"I was compelled and moved when I read the script," Hudson said. "Winnie Mandela is a complex and extraordinary woman and I'm honoured to be the actress asked to portray her. This is a powerful part of history that should be told."

Winnie Mandela was a fierce adversary to apartheid along with her husband before the end of the racist rule. But she was tainted by an association with a bodyguard who murdered a 14-year-old alleged informer in 1989. The Mandelas separated in 1996 and she was convicted of fraud in 2003 for stealing from a funeral fund.

‘Winnie’ will be directed by Darrell J. Roodt, the veteran South African filmmaker whose 2006 film ‘Yesterday’ received nominations for Africa's Best Foreign Film, and who also directed ‘Cry, The Beloved Country’ and ‘Sarafina!’.