Jennifer Hudson to star in Winnie Mandela film
Hollywood actress Jennifer Hudson is to play Nelson Mandela's ex-wife, Winnie, in a film about her life, reports say.
Variety magazine reported Hudson was thrilled about the role and has described Ms Madikizela-Mandela as a "powerful and extraordinary woman".
Ms Madikizela-Mandela played a vital role in freeing her husband after 27 years in jail but has since been linked to a murder and convicted of fraud.
South African film-maker Darrell Roodt will direct the film.
His work also includes world-renowned films Cry, The Beloved Country and Sarafina.
Hudson is the second international actor set to play a South African icon in recent months.
Hollywood is also preparing to release Invictus, a Clint Eastwood film about Mr Mandela in which US actor Morgan Freeman will play South Africa's first black president.
Nelson Mandela and Ms Madikizela-Mandela were divorced in 1996 just four years after his release from Robben Island.
Her role in the release of her ex-husband is celebrated by many South Africans and she is still known as the "mother of the nation" but she is no stranger to controversy.