Actress Tiffany Sarac Haddish, born in Las Angeles California on December 3, 1979, is slated to play Florence Griffith Joyner, also known as Flo-Jo, in biopic. Understanding the hard work and patience it has taken for Haddish to continue reaching higher heights in her career, makes her role in this biopic that much more rewarding. Haddish’s father, deceased now, left her mother when she was young. When Haddish was thirteen years old, her mother was in a life changing car accident, causing severe brain damage. Her mother later became diagnosed with schizophrenia, deeming her unable to care for her children. Haddish credits her mother’s behavior after the injury as one of the things that motivated her to pursue a career in comedy. According to Haddish, going from being highly intelligent to not being able to put words together anymore, proved to be extremely frustrating for her mother. Haddish would put on comedy shows at home and try to keep her mother’s spirits lifted. “If I could make her laugh then I probably [wouldn’t] get hit,” Haddish told National Public Radio in 2017.”
Haddish, has starred in Girls Trip, The Kitchen, Like a Boss, Here Today and many other movie and television shows. Although Haddish has many successful projects, it was her role in Girls Trip and comedic flare that awarded her critical acclaim. Haddish made history when she was invited to guest-host Saturday Night Live in November 2017, becoming the first African American female comedian to ever guest-host the show in its 43-year history.
Game1 co-CEOs Basil Iwanyk and Greg Economou are not only producing this biopic with Haddish, but also an array of related projects, including a docuseries and podcast dedicated to Flo-Jo’s story. Al Joyner, Flo-Jo’s widow will also be a producer on the project and serve as creative consultant. Haddish wishes to present as authentic of a representation as possible of Flo-Jo. “My goal with this film is making sure that younger generations know my ‘she-ro’, Flo-Jo, the fastest woman in the world to this day, existed.”
From trailblazing fashion (the originator of the one legged suit), to unmatched athleticism, Flo-Jo changed the face of track and field forever. At the 1984 Olympics in Las Angeles, Joyner won the silver medal at 200m. Her fingernails, style and presence gained her more attention than her running. At her Olympic trials in 1988 she broke the world record in 100m finishing in 10.49 seconds. This time placed Joyner faster than the men’s records in varying countries. To date, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica has come the closest to beating Joyner’s record this June 2021. Pryce is now known as the second fastest of all time behind the great Florence Griffith Joyner. Joyner was a wife, mother, athlete, actress and philanthropist. Those that knew her well, knew that she genuinely wanted to make a positive difference in the world. Haddish has already started training for her role and working with Al Joyner. “Working with Tiffany has been a great pleasure — she is incredibly dedicated, focused, and committed to portraying the spirit of Florence accurately, whose legacy of making a difference in the world will live on for generations to come. I hope that this film touches all who see it and inspires people to be the change the world so desperately needs right now!”
