Jennifer Hudson to play Winnie Mandela Oscar Celebruty

LOS ANGELES winning actress Jennifer Hudson is to play Winnie Mandela in a film charting the turbulent life and times of the ex-wife of South Africa's first black president, it was reported Wednesday.

Hudson, who scooped a best supporting actress Oscar in 2007 for her performance in the musical "Dreamgirls", told Daily Variety the film would bring a "powerful part of history" to cinema screens.

"I was compelled and moved when I read the script," Hudson said. "Winnie Mandela is a complex and extraordinary woman and I'm honored to be the actress to portray her. This is a powerful part of history that should be told."

The film will be directed by South African film-maker Darrell J. Roodt, whose films include "Cry, The Beloved Country" and "Sarafina."

News of the film comes as Hollywood prepares to release "Invictus" a Clint Eastwood-directed drama about Nelson Mandela, to be played by Morgan Freeman, and how the 1995 Rugby World Cup united the country after apartheid.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela campaigned tirelessly for her husband's release during his 27-year imprisonment in the apartheid era.

However her image was tarnished by a series of scandals including her links to the kidnap and murder of a young activist and a 2003 conviction for fraud.

She separated from Nelson Mandela in 1992, three years after his release.

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Johnny Depp Photo Album Celebrity

Cast member Johnny Depp poses at the premiere of the movie "Public Enemies" at the Mann Village theatre in Westwood, California in this June

Actor Johnny Depp arrives for a Museum of Modern Art tribute to director Tim Burton in New York
"Pirates of the Caribbean" star Johnny Depp was named People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" on Wednesday, reclaiming a title he first won in 2003.

Depp, whom People described as "the king of cool with the killer cheekbones," succeeded 2008 winner Hugh Jackman. Other stars who have received the honor twice include George Clooney and Brad Pitt.

"Whether it's onscreen in roles like Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise or at home with his family on their private Bahamian island, the 46-year-old father of two with 25 years in show business still reigns as Hollywood's most irresistible iconoclast," People said in a statement.

Past winners include Matt Damon in 2007, George Clooney in 2006, Matthew McConaughey in 2005, Jude Law in 2004, Ben Affleck in 2002, Pierce Brosnan in 2001 and Brad Pitt in 2000.

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