Jennifer Lopez Will Play a Cocaine Drug Lord in HBO TV Movie

Jennifer Lopez may currently play a cop on Shades of Blue, but her newest role has her on another side of the law.According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actress is set to play the lead in an HBO TV movie about late drug lord Griselda Blanco, a powerful female cartel member known as “The Cocaine Godmother” and “The Black Widow” who revolutionized the U.S. drug trade during the 1970s and 1980s.


Lopez will star and executive produce the project through Nuyorican Productions alongside longtime manager Benny Medina, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, and Julie and Rick Yorn. Actor Alex Pettyfer will co-executive produce with Priscilla Porianda and Patrick Walmsley. It’s unclear if Pettyfer will also have a role in the film.

“I’ve been fascinated by the life of this corrupt and complicated woman for many years,” said in a statement on Wednesday (Aug. 10, 2016). “The idea of teaming with HBO felt like the perfect fit for finally bringing Griselda’s story to life.”

During Blanco’s lifetime, she was said to have made her millions off trafficking 300 kilos of cocaine per month into Miami and rumored to have ordered up to 200 murders to establish her dominance as a drug kingpin in the Medellín Cartel. Blanco was arrested in 1985 and sentenced to almost 20 years in prison before being deported back to Colombia. She was allegedly gunned down and killed by her first two husbands in September 2012.