Gloria Steinem's About To Be Portrayed On HBO

When you're a living icon, there comes a time when you're probably going to have to face something potentially awkward: Watching someone else portray you in a biopic. Something of the sort is happening to feminist legend Gloria Steinem: She'll be appearing as a character in an upcoming HBO miniseries. Steinem will be played by Marisa Tomei.

According to The Wrap the miniseries will be called Ms., revolving around — as the title indicates — the founding of Ms. Magazine in 1971, "through the eyes of both the women who founded and ran it, and those whose lives it changed during the world-altering early days of the Women’s Movement." It will star Tomei as Steinem and Kathy Najimi as Bella "Battling Bella" Abzug, a social activist and U.S. representative who helped Steinem and other feminists of the time found the National Women's Political Caucus.

Considering Steinem's landmark place in second wave feminism (she's essentially the face of it to this day), it's kind of remarkable (in an annoying way) that there aren't already hordes of films and TV series about her life and activism. At least this one seems to be in good hands: George Clooney's producing with Silver Linings Playbook producer Bruce Cohen and Good Night, and Good Luck producer Grant Heslov — but even more importantly, Steinem herself will be serving as a consultant, ensuring that they get her story right.

Steinem, Abzug, Ms., and so much of what they're exploring in this miniseries is crucial to feminist history, and seeing it portrayed on a platform like HBO proves to be an interesting ride.