Everyone’s excited for The First Lady, an upcoming anthology series set to premiere on Showtime in April. The show will feature the lives — both public and behind-the-scenes — of some of the most impactful first ladies of American history. Featuring a star-studded cast of veteran performers, The First Lady will be depicting the lives of four notable first ladies: Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, and Michelle Obama. The series is expected to show the public personas of these first ladies, as well as the important roles they played not just on the presidents’ lives but on history-defining events as well. Showtime describes its upcoming offering as follows: “A revelatory reframing of American leadership through the lens of the First Ladies. Starring Viola Davis as Michelle Obama, Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford and Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt, this series delves deep into the Ladies’ personal and political lives. Exploring everything from their journeys to Washington, family life, and world-changing political contributions, the impact of the White House’s women is no longer hidden from view.” Aside from the first ladies, the show is also set to feature the lives of the presidents these first ladies supported, as well as staffers and significant figures that were mainstays during different administrations. If you want to know more about the actors and actresses who will be playing real-life figures in The First Lady, we’ve done the research for you. Here are the performers set to appear in the upcoming series The First Lady.
Viola Davis as Michelle Obama
Viola Davis will be playing Michelle Obama, wife and first lady to President Barack Obama and the first African-American woman to hold the position. Viola Davis shares an uncanny resemblance with the former first lady, making her an excellent choice to play the role. A film and TV veteran, Davis has played another notable real-life African-American figure in the past. On Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Davis played the legendary blues singer Ma Rainey, a role that has earned her critical acclaim. A four-time Academy Award nominee, she finally won Best Supporting Actress in 2016 for her role in Fences. Other notable characters Viola Davis has played include Annalise Keating in How To Get Away With Murder and Amanda Waller in Suicide Squad. With such an impressive portfolio, we can expect Viola Davis to nail her portrayal of Michelle Obama to perfection. According to Deadline, Davis actually worries about what the former first lady might think of her portrayal in the show. “Let me tell you something, not only does the thought [of Michelle Obama watching the show] come to mind, it keeps me up at night.”
Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford
Michelle Pfeiffer will be playing Betty Ford, wife and first lady to President Gerald Ford. Despite being a wife to a Republican president, Betty Ford has been noted for her more moderate and liberal views on politics and social concerns, much to the chagrin of many conservative hardliners during her time. A socially and politically active first lady, she campaigned for breast cancer awareness and even supported abortion rights, a sensitive topic among many Republicans. The actress who will be playing her, Pfeiffer, is Hollywood royalty. She has appeared in a few biopics before, including 1995’s Dangerous Minds, where she played American writer LouAnne Johnson, and 2017’s The Wizard of Lies, appearing as Ruth Madoff, the wife of disgraced businessman Bernie Madoff.
Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt
British actress Gillian Anderson is set to appear in The First Lady as Eleanor Roosevelt, the outspoken first lady of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Having been in the post from 1933 to 1945, she holds the record of being the longest-serving first lady in American history. A staunch activist for human rights, Harry S. Truman called her the “First Lady of the World.” Gillian Anderson is no stranger to playing powerful political figures. Just recently, she made noise for her masterful portrayal of Margaret Thatcher, the first female British prime minister, in the hit Netflix series The Crown. For her uncanny portrayal, she won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the Emmys, her second win and sixth nomination. Her most prominent role was as Dana Scully in the hit sci-fi series The X-Files, for which she also won an Emmy.
O.T. Fagbenle as Barack Obama
O.T. Fagbenle will be portraying President Barack Obama in The First Lady. A British actor, Fagbenle has previously appeared as a main character in The Handmaid’s Tale. He also appeared in several British projects like Doctor Who, Material Girl, and Hollyoaks.
Aaron Eckhart as Gerald Ford
Aaron Eckhart will be playing Betty Ford’s husband, Gerald Ford, on The First Lady. One of Hollywood’s most popular actors, Eckhart has appeared in popular movies and TV shows. On Scully, he played First Officer Jeff Skiles, alongside Tom Hanks. On The Dark Knight, he portrayed Harvey Dent. One of his most critically acclaimed roles is Nick Naylor in the hit movie Thank You For Smoking. For his role, Aaron Eckhart was nominated for a Golden Globes, among other trophies.
Kiefer Sutherland as Franklin D. Roosevelt
Action star Kiefer Sutherland will be portraying Franklin D. Roosevelt in The First Lady, opposite Gillian Anderson’s Eleanor Roosevelt. Sutherland is best known for his lead role in the hit action series 24, where he played the iconic CIA agent Jack Bauer. He also played Tom Kirkman in another hit series, Designated Survivor. Son of Hollywood veteran Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas, Sutherland has been appearing in movies and TV shows for decades.
Other actors set to appear in The First Lady
Fans should also expect certain notable figures to be portrayed in The First Lady. Rhys Wakefield will be portraying Dick Cheney, George W. Bush’s vice president. Regina Taylor will be playing Marian Shields Robinson, Michelle Obama’s mother. Lily Rabe will be playing Lorena Hickok, a close confidante of Eleanor Roosevelt. Other actors set to appear in the show are Lexi Underwood as Malia Obama, Derek Cecil as Donald Rumsfeld, Ben Cook as Steven Ford, Leslie Kritzer as Martha Graham, Isaiah Williams as Martin Luther King III, Jeremy Bobb as Theodore Roosevelt, and many others.Viola Davis
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