©Photo by Kerry Brown/The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Lily James has been cast to play Whitney Wolfe Herd, the founder Bumble, in an upcoming biopic inspired by the businesswoman’s life, Deadline is reporting. The film, which is untitled, is currently in pre-production. The project is expected to begin shooting later this year.
The movie is being produced by 20th Century Studios and Ethea Entertainment, the production company formed by Jennifer Gibgot and Andrew Panay. Besides starring in the project, James will also serve as a producer, alongside Gibgot and Panay.
Gala Gordon will serve as an executive producer on the movie. Sarah Shepard will oversee the project for 20th Century Studios. Rachel Lee Goldenberg, who made her feature film directorial debut on the 2020 musical romantic comedy, Valley Girl, is set to helm the biopic. Goldenberg also co-wrote the upcoming movie with Bill Parker and Kim Caramele.
Wolfe Herd famously left Tinder, after she co-founded the dating app, in 2014. She went on to launch Bumble as a competitor that same year. The latter app made headlines for adopting the new model of requiring women to send the first message after a match. However, in same-sex matches, either person can initiate the chat.
In 2021, Bumble went public. As a result, Wolfe Herd became one of the youngest self-made billionaires at the age of 31. The businesswoman stepped down as CEO of Bumble last year, but she’s still serving as the company’s executive chair. The app still remains popular; as of last year, it reportedly engaged more than 50 million active users.
Since its launch, Bumble has become a massive success. Several of its divisions are still thriving today. Plot details about the biopic have not yet been released. It’s currently unknown how the film will compare to the businesswoman’s actual origin story. Casting of the movie’s supporting roles is already under way. The project is expected to be released next year.
The film marks another major milestone in James’ acting career. The movie will mark one of the actress’ first major productions as a producer..
After appearing in a supporting role on Downton Abbey, James had her breakthrough as the title role in the 2015 live-action remake of Cinderella. She also starred in Baby Driver and most recently The Iron Claw.
James returned to television in Hulu’s 2022 biographical drama mini-series, Pamy & Tommy, on which she played Pamela Anderson. The English actress was nominated for an Emmy and Golden Globe, and won a Satellite Award, for her performance.
James will next be seen in director Potsy Ponciroli’s mystery comedy, Greedy People, which had its world premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The actress is also starring in helmer David Mackenzie’s movie, Relay.
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