Sophia Al-Maria, whose credits include Little Birds and Sisters with Transistors, has signed on to The Many Lives of Miss K, based on Jean-Noël Liaut’s biography of fashion model and WWII secret agent, Toto Koopman.
The series from Finite Films & TV and Shoni Productions will be written by Al-Maria based on Liaut’s biography of Koopman, who was born to a Dutch cavalry officer father and a half-Indonesian mother and made history in 1930s Paris as the first mixed-race model to be featured on the cover of French Vogue. Koopman, who was also openly bisexual, became a wartime spy, was captured in 1941, and survived the Nazi concentration camps. Shee went on to make a name for herself in Germany’s postwar art world.
Amy Gardner, founder and executive producer at Finite Films & TV, said: “The aim of this project is to delve into Toto Koopman’s complex and inspiring life and do it justice, and Sophia is someone we trust to bring this incredibly profound and unique story to life. We couldn’t be more excited to have her on board, and to be working with the amazing Shoni Productions team, who will be our partners in bringing this story to life.”
