Zendaya, who rocked a pink jumpsuit at Glamour’s Women of the Year banquet, has just announced her next big project. We’re about to see her in The Greatest Showman next month. Of course she has her role in the Spiderman franchise and it was just announced that Zendaya with join with Reese Witherspoon to produce an adaptation of The Gilded Years that will be titled The White Lie. The story is about Anita Hemmings, a light-skinned woman of color who passed as white so she could graduate from Vassar in the 1890s.
Zendaya will produce and star in the thriller “A White Lie,” playing the first African-American woman to graduate from Vassar College, Variety has learned.
The project is based on Karin Tanabe’s book “The Gilded Years,” which told the true story of Anita Hemmings, a light-skinned, African-American woman who was the descendant of slaves and passed as white so she could attend Vassar during the 1890s. She’s pulled into her elite world where she’s treated as a wealthy, educated white woman who finds romance with a moneyed Harvard student.
Monica Beletsky will write the script, and Zendaya will produce the film alongside Reese Witherspoon and her Hello Sunshine partner Lauren Neustadter.
I haven’t read The Gilded Years but it was on my Goodreads list, so I just moved it up to the top position – god, I love historical fiction. In my meager Google search, this is the only non-textbook I could find about Anita and her time at Vassar, the story sounds fascinating. It’s being sold as a psychological thriller and I guess the book opens on Anita’s senior year with her in love and afraid of being outed. I’m intrigued.
I’d like to give a nod to Reese Witherspoon and her Hello Sunshine production house. Reese said she wanted to make more opportunities for women and that included women of color and so far, she’s keeping her word. Obviously, I’m going to seeing this for the story and for Zendaya but I want to acknowledge Reese for putting her money where her mouth is. Zendaya, of course, always does that and deserves recognition for it as well. This will be the first movie Zendaya has produced, going off of her IMDb. She’s produced two episodes of her TV show, K.C. Undercover, and co-produced 40 episodes.
There’s a new trailer for The Greatest Showman. It has much more dancing in it. I’m torn on this one – I love the cast, the trailer looks fun and Moulin Rouge-y but so far, it looks like they are making PT Barnum out to be some kind of savior and that goes against everything I have been taught about him. But Zendaya and her pink hair look positively dreamy. I actually think she and Efron pair well visually on screen. I’m nervous that she’ll act circles around him though:
Photo credit: WENN Photos
I googled Anita, and Zendaya is a perfect casting choice for her. This story already has me intrigued. Looking forward to The Greates Showman as well!!
Off topic I wish they would remake Imitation of Life. That was a great film.
There’s already two versions. No need for another.
I think there is.
Zendaya is miscast. Anita Hemmings was much lighter than her to the point where, if you did not know that she was black, you would not have guessed it. That is what “passing” is.
You can tell that Zendaya is of mixed heritage. But to be honest, this film probably would have not gotten made if they were being accurate, so I will just get over it and go see it when it is released in theaters.
I didn’t know Zendaya was black until I read it. She could be Latina for instance.
But Latina still isn’t “white”, especially in that place and time. (just typing that makes me feel gross) I also think she would have a hard time passing. I think Hollywood has limited room for actresses of color. So instead of looking for an unknown mixed actress to more realistically fit the role they cast the young, it girl of color. But I’m sure the movie will be interesting.
Latina/o is not a race. You can be black, asian, first nation, white, or part of all the groups and still be a latina/latino.
George Harriman is the first person that comes to mind when I mean passing. Jennifer Beals and Halsey are two women that come to mind.
What I meant is that I didn’t see her as of African/American descent (also was not looking at her that way I guess).
And I think it may be a myth that in those days people were less mixed in America. There were a lot of cases of people hiding mixed heritage. Rebecca Solnit wrote about these experiences of white people crossing over to the Native Americans, having children with them etc. And some Europeans already carried a mixed heritage with them when they got to America.
@Aiobhan. I don’t hink she is miscasted. Halle Berry played Queen who was another Black woman who could pass for White. They lightened Halle’s skin to play that part. They will probably do the same for Zendaya.
I agree with you Aiobahn.
Zendaya looks ethnic and biracial mixed with black. She doesn’t look white, and I knew she was biracial. Halsey and Wentworth Miller are more along those lines. Rashida Jones.
Eartha Kitt’s daughter comes to mind;
https://www.simplyeartha.com/why-dont-you-look-like-your-mother/
This sounds like a fantastic project, and every time I read an interview with Zendaya I am delighted with how smart and focused she is. I think she will be perfect. As far as 100% “accuracy” in casting (skin color or hair color or whatever)–unless the casting is whitewashing or racist (e.g. going for a white person for an Asian character when there are plenty of talented Asian actors–that kind of thing), then it seems like a waste of time to start arguing over whether her skin is too dark to play this or that role, or whether her hair is the right texture or whatever people want to say. Like–are we really going to say that she’s too dark to play this role? Really?
You clearly have no clue what ” racial passing” is in the actual historical context, I am going to suggest that you read
Passing: When People Can’t Be Who They Are
Passing by Nella Larsen
A Chosen Exile by Allyson Hobbs
You can start by reading this article:
https://news.stanford.edu/news/2013/december/passing-as-white-121713.html
Non-whites passing for white actually happened and needs to be dealt with in a serious manner. Those people lived in secret most of their lives afraid to do anything for fear that they would be either be publically humiliated or killed if anyone found out that they had any blackness in them. They struggled with self-hatred and other identity issues in order to fulfill professional goals because of white supremacy. While I am happy this film is being made, her casting is not taking this story seriously enough as it shows ignorance about the subject that they are trying to tackle. In the time period that this story would have taken place, if someone like Zendaya showed up for an interview at Vassar she would have been turned away and told never to set foot on the property or told to go clean something. It is not as bad as Chadwick being cast as Thurgood Marshall but they should have cast someone who fit the part better.
No need for the debating. Like I said above, they willl probably lighten her skin.
This had me thinking a sort of twisted thought. If really really dark skinned people are having trouble getting good roles in Hollywood as per Viola Davis and many others, this film manages to be politically correct while still going for the obvious choice of light black person. 🤔
It’s a crazy interesting story though.
Great project for her to produce and star in. Also very cool of Reese to provide women of ALL backgrounds through her company. Keep it up ladies!
Kaiser, you are correct that she will definitely act circles around Efron. She’s so talented & her career is on the upside while Efron has been on a downhill slump for awhile.
I will skip the Barnum movie. The project with Reese sounds more interesting.
She’s not a good actress, but alright then, I’m here for the idea.
As I look at more pictures of Anita Hemmings the more I’m not seeing it, Zendaya doesn’t look white passing at all… Someone posted a side by side picture with Troian, and that would have been a good match.
She’s a terrible actress. Another no-talent Disney product.
I mean she’s pretty, tall and is really good with makeup. I really do believe she needs to go into modeling or something. I’m still irritated by Spiderman, she was basically playing herself but even that wasn’t good.
She’s not good I know but I really like her! She comes off really well in her interviews. Eloquent, smart and engaged.