Dakota Fanning (The Alienist) will star in the upcoming showtime anthology series The First Lady as Susan Elizabeth Ford, Betty Ford’s daughter. With an all-star cast, Michelle Pheiffer (French Exit) is headlining the series as Betty Ford alongside Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) as Michelle Obama and Gillian Anderson (The Crown, Sex Education) as Eleanor Roosevelt, via Deadline.
Fanning will appear in six episodes throughout the series as Susan Elizabeth Ford, the youngest child and only daughter of Betty and President Gerald Ford. Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Night) will play the former 38th president of the United States, who served in the White House from 1974-1977. During his term Susan Ford was a teenager and was often vocal with her family about several progressive political movements going on at the time. This is a reunions of sorts for Fanning and Pheiffer, as they starred together in the 2001 film I am Sam.
The cast also features O-T Fagbenle (The Handmaid’s Tale) as Barack Obama, along with Judy Greer (27 Dresses), Rhys Wakefield (The Purge), Jayme Lawson (Farewell Amor), and Kristine Froseth (Looking for Alaska) in recurring roles.
The series is created by Aaron Cooley (Best.Worst.Weekend.Ever). Along with starring as Obama, Davis will co-executive produce the series alongside Cooley, Susanne Bier (The Undoing), Julius Tennon (Dazed and Confused), Cathy Schulman (Crash), Jeff Gaspin (L.A.’s Finest), and Brad Kaplan (The Intruder).