According to a report by BBC Radio 5 Live, Carey Mulligan is set to play Eliza Doolittle in the upcoming remake of My Fair Lady, written by Emma Thompson. Previous rumors suggested that Keira Knightley and Natalie Portman were interested in the coveted role of Doolittle, however Thompson revealed that Mulligan has been cast.
Though no one has been cast as male lead Henry Higgins, rumors have sugguested that Hugh Grant might be linked to the role. On this subject Thompson stated, "But we still don't know about Higgins. I love Hugh so I'd love him to do it, he might want to, he might not want to, so we don't know yet. But hopefully we'll make it later this year."
Carey Mulligan made her acting debut as Kitty Bennet in Pride & Prejudice in 2005. Following Pride & Prejudice, she had television roles in the BBC Charles Dickens adaptation Bleak House and the following year she appeared in The Amazing Mrs Pritchard. In 2007, she began with roles in the one-off television dramas My Boy Jack and Northanger Abbey. The same year, she made her Broadway debut in The Seagull to critical acclaim. At age 24, she gained widespread recognition for playing the lead role of Jenny in An Education in 2009, winning a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Additionally, Mulligan was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance.
The original film was a 1964 musical film adaptation of the Lerner and Loewe stage musical, My Fair Lady, based on the film adaptation of the stage play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. The ending and the ballroom scene are from the 1938 film Pygmalion rather than Shaw's original stage play. The film was directed by George Cukor and stars Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. My Fair Lady won eight Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director.
