Hidden Figures, the movie based on Margot Lee Shetterly’s book of the same title about a team of Black women devised the plan that would send the first American man into orbit aboard the Friendship 7 has added a new hire to the ensemble.
Janelle Monae will play the youngest woman in the group of mathematicians, Mary Jackson, alongside Golden Globe winner Taraji as Katherine Johnson, and Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer as Dorothy Vaughan.
Mary Winston Jackson was raised in Hampton, Virginia, attended the Hampton Institute (now Hampton University), and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degrees in Mathematics and Physical Science. She taught in Maryland, prior to joining the NASA Langley Research Center, where she would spend 34 years as an Aeronautical Engineer, before retiring in 1985.
Kevin Costner will play the leader of the space program. Ted Melfi is the director and a producer on the film. Other producers listed along with him are Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, and Donna Gigliotti. The release date for Hidden Figures is January 13, 2017 and is scheduled to film in Atlanta this year.
What do you think about Janelle being added to this all #BlackGirlMagic cast? Let us know in the comments!
