Oprah Winfrey Will Portray Annie Lee Cooper in Civil Rights Drama Selma

Ava DuVernay, the independent film director known for 2011’s I Will Follow and 2012’s Middle of Nowhere, has another big name added to the cast of her Martin Luther King Jr. feature drama, Selma.

According to The Wrap, Oprah Winfrey will portray freedom fighter Annie Lee Cooper. Cooper, a Selma, Ala., native, who died in November 2010 at 100 years old, stood in line for hours in an attempt to register to vote at the Dallas County Courthouse during the civil rights movement.