THE FIRST LADY to Feature Multiple Emmy-Nominated Actress Regina Taylor as Marian Shields Robinson Michelle Obama’s Mother

Actress from I’ll Fly Away, The Unit and Lovecraft Country to Portray Source of FLOTUS’s Strength in The SHOWTIME® Anthology Drama Series

Regina Taylor, two-time NAACP Image Award winning actress, playwright and activist, will play the role of Marian Shields Robinson, Michelle Obama’s mother in the SHOWTIME anthology series THE FIRST LADY which premieres on Sunday, April 17 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME. 

THE FIRST LADY is a revelatory reframing of American leadership, told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House. In the government’s East Wing, many of history’s most impactful and world-changing decisions have been hidden from view, made by America’s charismatic, complex and dynamic First Ladies. The series will peel back the curtain on the personal and political lives of three unique, enigmatic women and their families, tracing their journeys to Washington, dipping into their pasts and following them beyond the White House into their greatest moments. Through interweaving storylines so intimate it’s as if the White House walls are talking, season one focuses on the enlightening lives of Michelle Obama, Betty Ford and Eleanor Roosevelt. 

The new anthology drama stars Oscar®, Emmy® and Tony winner Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), as former first lady Michelle Obama, Oscar and Emmy nominee Michelle Pfeiffer (French Exit) as Betty Ford and Emmy and Screen Actors Guild winner Gillian Anderson (The Crown) as Eleanor Roosevelt. The series also stars Kiefer Sutherland (24) as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Aaron Eckhart (Wander) as President Gerald Ford, Dakota Fanning (The Alienist) as Susan Elizabeth Ford, Regina Taylor (I’ll Fly Away) as Michelle Robinson Obama’s mother Marian Shields Robinson and Lily Rabe (American Horror Story) as Lorena “Hick” Hickok.

Produced for SHOWTIME by Lionsgate Television, the 10-episode series, created by Aaron Cooley, is executive produced by Oscar winner Cathy Schulman (Crash), who also serves as showrunner, and Oscar and Emmy winner Susanne Bier (The Undoing) executive produces and directs all of season one.

“Michelle Obama has always credited her mother as being an inspirational role model,” Taylor said. “Her mother and father were absolute pillars of strength, encouraging her to pursue her dreams, let no one deter her and to not get in her own way. It was crucial for Michelle Obama, as the first Black woman in the White House, to bring along her essential source of strength – her mother, Marian Robinson.”

Taylor said it is a great honor to be working with such an astonishing cast of actors in the widely anticipated series.

“Each performer is singular, amazing and a beautiful testimony to the strengths of first ladies and their lasting imprint on our world,” Taylor said. “THE FIRST LADY is a timely and provocative project that enables us to see how the lives of these first ladies influenced American culture and politics. Helmed by the brilliant director Susanne Bier, the series is beautifully crafted and realized with indelible performances by Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Gillian Anderson, accompanied by an extremely impressive ensemble.”

Taylor is an Actress, Writer and Director