Tiffany Haddish Is Sprinting Toward the Lead Role in a Flo-Jo Biopic
While Tiffany Haddish has most recently made headlines for bringing her particular brand of silliness to Kids Say the Darndest Things and Eric Andre’s Bad Trip, her next project will require her to flex some dramatic muscles. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the comedian will produce and star in a biographical movie about Florence Griffith Joyner, the Olympic track star known as Flo-Jo.
In 1988, Joyner took home three Olympic gold medals at the summer games held in Seoul. Four years before that, during her Olympic debut, she was awarded a silver medal for the 200 meter distance race in Los Angeles. To date, she is still the fastest woman of all time, with records for both 100 meter and 200 meter races still standing.
In her prime, she was recognized by her bold, colorful track uniforms. Although Joyner retired early—with many brand endorsement deals—she remained a pop culture icon. Nearly three years ago Beyoncé dressed as Flo-Jo for Halloween (posed next to Jay-Z’s Tommie Smith, the Olympic track and field runner known for his protest of American racism at the 1968 Summer Olympics), wearing a version of her iconic purple, asymmetric leotard. Serena Williams paid homage to this look at the 2021 Australian Open with a bright asymmetric catsuit of her own. “I was inspired by Flo-Jo, who was a wonderful track athlete, amazing athlete, when I was growing up,” she said in an interview with The Guardian. “Watching her fashion, just always changing. Her outfits were always amazing.”
Joyner’s status as a fashion icon wasn’t just cemented with her own outfit choices—she also briefly worked as a designer, creating the NBA jerseys for the Indiana Pacers in 1989. After teasing an Olympic comeback in the mid ‘90s, she passed away in her sleep as a result of an epileptic seizure in 1998.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Haddish has already started training to portray the fastest woman in the world, and is working with the late Olympian’s husband and former coach Al Joyner to accurately represent the sports legend. “My goal with this film is making sure that younger generations know my ‘she-ro’ Flo-Jo, the fastest woman in the world to this day, existed,” she said.