Skip to content

Misty Copeland Biopic Secures Black Woman Director

Misty Copeland Biopic Secures Black Woman Director

 Photo: Annie Tritt 

A Black woman has been tapped to direct New Line's Misty Copeland biopic, 'Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina'. Her name is Nzingha Stewart. 

Stewart's resume includes Shondaland's Grey's Anatomy' 'Scandal', 'How to Get Away with Murder' and 'A Million Little Things'. Now she's set to bring the story of the American Ballet Theatre's first African American woman principal dancer to life. 

 

"As an African American woman, I know firsthand that when Misty Copeland leaps, we all soar," the Hollywood Reporter reports Stewart saying in a statement. "As a filmmaker, I am thrilled to bring this hopeful, triumphant and cinematic story to the big screen."

The film, bearing the same name as Copeland's best-selling memoir, will follow Copeland's journey from humble beginnings, to starting ballet at the late age of 13, to her rise as a trailblazing ballerina. Before taking on such a task, Stewart will make her feature directorial debut with Netflix's 'Tall Girl'