“The memory of her, the feeling of her … comes through, even when you’re only hearing her voice from her letters,” Oprah Winfrey has praised Halle Bailey

Halle Bailey has her next film musical scheduled!

This actress, as well as Chloe singer, who is also a Chloe Halle vocalist, aged 21 is set to play Nettie as Nettie in The Color Purple, the movie adaptation that is scheduled to be made of Alice Walker’s novel, which is based on the Broadway musical that has the same title.

On Bailey’s casting as a producer, Oprah Winfrey (who made her film debut as Sofia in the 1985 film adaptation produced by Steven Spielberg) said to Vanity Fair, “She’s somebody whose presence you can feel in her absence.”

“The memory of her, the feeling of her, the strength of her comes through, even when you’re only hearing her voice from her letters,” added Winfrey who is 68.

Bailey will join an all-star cast which includes Danielle Brooks as Sofia and Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery. Fantasia Barrino will play Celie and will reprise her role from her last Broadway show. It will star H.E.R. and Corey Hawkins.

Winfrey was part of a variety of casting announcements that were made Thursday night on Soul of a Nation during which she announced that Barrino 37, who is a veteran of the show, will portray Celie and Brooks will portray Sofia in the role for which the latter has was previously awarded an Tony Award nomination for, following her performance in the show’s Broadway revival.

Brooks 32, who is a professional wrestler, got her first big screen role in the role of Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson in 2013 in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black and can currently be seen on screen with John Cena in HBO Max’s Peacemaker.

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Brooks recalls the moment when she was informed about her role as Sofia. “They were saying, ‘Danielle, you have one more meeting with the director Blitz [Bazawule],’ and then, all of a sudden, this beautiful Black women in purple comes up on the screen and it’s Miss Oprah Winfrey,” she recalled.

“I am here, representing all things purple to tell you, you are our Sofia,” Winfrey stated to her during the call. Brooks was ecstatic.

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