Darrell J. Roodt will direct the movie, which features a screenplay by Andre Pieterse, Roodt and Paul L. Johnson, based on the Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob biography Winnie Mandela: A Life.

Hudson won the Oscar for her screen debut as Effie White in Dreamgirls. Her other screen appearances are The Secret Life of Bees and Sex in the City, and her stage credits include concert versions of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and Hair. She is also a Grammy Award-winning recording artist.