EXCLUSIVE: BUFF Studios and Tunji Entertainment are developing a historical drama based on the life of Fanny Eaton, a Jamaican woman who became one of the most popular models in Victorian England and featured in many Pre-Raphaelite masterpieces, with Susan Chardy (On Becoming A Guinea Fowl) set to star.
Titled Eaton, the film will be directed by BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Alex Kayode-Kay (The Ballad of Olive Morris) with Kate Herron (Loki, Sex Education) attached as executive producer.
The project marks the feature directorial debut of Kayode-Kay, who will also co-write and produce the project under his production banner Tunji Entertainment. The screenplay is co-written by Emma Zadow, with Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe also serving as executive producer. Casting on the ensemble is underway, and producers will be presenting the project at the EFM.
Fanny Eaton was born in 1835 in Jamaica. Her mother is believed to be Matilda Foster, who was born into enslavement. Researchers believe her father was potentially a British soldier, James Entwistle, who was stationed nearby and died not long after her birth.
Eaton moved to the UK with her mother in the 1840s and initially worked as a domestic servant before her second career as a model. She would go on to become a central muse to several leading Pre-Raphaelite artists, including John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Rebecca Solomon, and Simeon Solomon. She is widely regarded as Britain’s first Black supermodel of mixed heritage.
“The story of Fanny Eaton is one I’ve wanted to tell onscreen for a long time, and I couldn’t think of a better team of collaborators to do it with,” Kayode-Kay said in a statement. “The role of Fanny is not easy to cast, so when someone of Susan’s gravitas, grace, and star quality steps in, it’s a beautiful thing.”
Anyiam-Osigwe added: “Fanny Eaton was, in every sense, Britain’s first Black supermodel – visible everywhere, yet written out of history. This film is about restoring dignity, authorship, and cultural memory, while creating a cinematic work that feels both timeless and urgently contemporary.”