Big shoes to fill! Marisa Tomei has been tapped to play famed feminist leader Gloria Steinem in an upcoming HBO miniseries.
The project is being produced by George Clooney and is called Ms. for the feminist magazine by the same name, which Steinem founded with editor Letty Cottin Pogrebin in the 1970s.
According to Deadline, the miniseries will focus on the years surrounding the first issue of Ms. in 1971. Kathy Najimy (The Guilt Trip) will reportedly play Bella Abzug, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and one of Steinem's best friends.
Tomei, 50, and Najimy, 58, will both serve as executive producers along with Clooney. Steinem herself, now 80, is also involved in the project. She is reportedly working as a consultant for the miniseries.
Steinem, who is recognized as one of the leaders and revolutionaries of second-wave feminism, has kept busy in recent years. This past October, she appeared in an episode of The Good Wife, and she regularly gives speeches at events, including this past November's Equality Now's 'Make Equality Reality' event, where she was one of the guests of honor.
This is the second Steinem project from HBO. The network previously debuted a documentary about the feminist, Gloria: In Her Own Words, in 2011.
Tomei, whose recent films include The Rewrite, Love Is Strange, and Spare Parts, will be the first star to take on the role of Steinem in a major way. She was previously portrayed by Peggy Lipton in the NBC miniseries The '70s, and by Kirstie Alley in the TV movie A Bunny's Tale.