Barbara Streisand and Unorthodox star Shira Haas are bringing the life of Golda Meir to the small screen.
According to Deadline, the 25-year-old Golden Globe nominee will play the late Israeli prime minister in Lioness, which Oscar winner Streisand is set to executive produce.
Yentl star Ms Streisand will share executive producing credits with writer Eric Tuchman (The Handmaid’s Tale) and director Mimi Leder (The Morning Show).
The series is inspired by Francine Klagsbrun’s non-fiction work Golda Meir and the Nation of Israel, which chronicles the life of the ‘Mother of Israel’.
Denise Di Novi, whose PatMa Productions is co-producing, told Deadline in 2018: ““One of the things that frustrates us is that there are so many incredible women in history whose stories have not been told,
“Golda Meir is one of the greatest and most prominent figures in world history and her entire life as a wife, mother, teacher and creator of a country in one of the most complicated nations in the world should be told. We feel the depth of her story, and we think it’s an incredible role for an actor. It’s so compelling.”
Tel Aviv native Ms Haas is quickly becoming one of the most acclaimed Israeli stars of her generation.
The granddaughter of an Auschwitz survivor made her television debut playing Ruchami Weiss on the hit Israeli series Shtisel before starring as young Fania in Israeli-American Natalie Portman’s directorial debut, A Tale of Love and Darkness.
But it was the Netflix series Unorthodox that catapulted Haas to international fame and led to her becoming the first Israeli actor to be nominated for a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy.
She is also a two-time winner of Israel’s Academy Awards, the Ophirs, for her work in Noble Savage and Asia.