Octavia Spencer mounts black haircare revolution as Madam C.J. Walker in Self Made trailer

Octavia Spencer is putting the Ma in Madam C.J. Walker’s life story.

Netflix has unveiled the first full-length trailer for the Oscar-winner’s upcoming series based on the trailblazing African American haircare entrepreneur’s rise, featuring producer-star Spencer in full period costume as she embodies the country’s first woman to become a self-made millionaire.

The preview for Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker charts the titular icon’s journey against all odds, as she overcame gender biases, personal betrayals, and bitter business rivalries to create a monumental brand that revolutionized black haircare.

Inspired by a book written by one of Walker’s descendants, A’Lelia Bundles, the four-part limited series also touches on the central figure’s fight against post-slavery racism as she found support in her husband, C.J. Walker (Blair Underwood), and daughter, Lelia (Tiffany Haddish), while battling her fierce business rival Addie Munroe (Carmen Ejogo).

Self Made — also co-produced by LeBron James and directed by Harriet helmer Kasi Lemmons and Queen Sugar‘s DeMane Davis — launches March 20 on Netflix. Watch the first trailer above.

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