Catherine Zeta-Jones has been tapped to play a female drug kingpin in "The Godmother," the true story of a ruthless Colombian dealer in the male-dominated Medellin cartel.
Zeta-Jones nabbed a Golden Globe nomination for her role as the wife of a brutal drug dealer in 2000's "Traffic," but now she'll star as Griselda Blanco, who rose from a life as a runaway teenager to the upper
echelons of the drug world, according to Deadline.com.
Blanco was involved in the Miami drug wars of the 1970s and '80s, as revealed in the documentary "Cocaine Cowboys," earning her the nicknames La Madrina, Black Widow, and the Cocaine Godmother.
She was later shot to death in 2012 by, authorities claim, a
motorcycle-riding assassin, according to the Miami Herald.
The decision to cast Zeta-Jones as Blanco has been criticized in some circles because, despite the fact the she's an accomplished actress who even won an Academy Award for 2003's "Chicago," the role did not go to a Latina.
"Zeta-Jones is called upon to be Colombian when there are more visible Latina actresses working in Hollywood than ever — thanks in no small part to executive producers such as Eva Longoria and Salma Hayek,"
Soraya Nadia McDonald wrote for The Washington Post.
"Hayek was responsible for bringing 'Ugly Betty,' the show based on the Colombian telanovela 'Yo soy Betty, la fea,' to network television. And Longoria has really taken charge with her production company UnbeliEVAble Entertainment," McDonald continued.
Others were more blunt about the selection of Zeta-Jones on Twitter.
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