Actress, supermodel and producer Naomi Campbell will be featured as a recurring guest star on FOX's sexy and powerful new family drama, EMPIRE. Campbell will play CAMILLA, an alluring woman involved in a steamy affair with the much-younger potential heir to his father's throne, HAKEEM (newcomer Bryshere Gray), over whom she exercises considerable influence. EMPIRE will debut in early 2015 on FOX.
"Naomi is a beautiful actress. Underrated in my mind," said co-creator and executive producer Lee Daniels ("Lee Daniels' The Butler," "Precious"). "She will be wonderful as Camilla. I am truly thrilled to have one of my close friends join us."
Campbell added, "It's an honor to follow in the footsteps of actresses like Halle Berry, Oprah, Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique, and work with Lee Daniels. I'm looking forward to joining Lee and this amazing cast on set."
With hip-hop at the forefront of music and fashion, Academy Award nominee Daniels and Emmy Award winner Danny Strong ("Game Change," "Lee Daniels' The Butler") bring us EMPIRE a family dynasty set against a rich world of glamour, danger, sex and power, with music by prolific producer Timbaland. Music mogul LUCIOUS LYON (Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard, "Crash," "Hustle & Flow") is the CEO of Empire Entertainment. He is the king of hip-hop, whose reign has been unchallenged for years...until his health begins to fail, which prompts his three sons, HAKEEM (Gray), JAMAL (Jussie Smollett, "The Mighty Ducks") and ANDRE (Trai Byers, "90210"), to battle for control of their father's corporation. But as Lucious begins the process of choosing a successor, his plans are thrown into chaos when his ex-wife, COOKIE (Academy Award and Emmy Award nominee Taraji P. Henson, "No Good Deed," "Person of Interest"), mysteriously emerges from prison seven years early. Along with Daniels and Strong, Brian Grazer ("24," "Friday Night Lights," "Parenthood") also serves as an executive producer on the series. In other casting news, famed R&B singer Gladys Knight also will be featured in a cameo on EMPIRE, playing herself.
Campbell has appeared in countless films and TV series over the course of her career, including FOX's police drama "New York Undercover,"
SPIKE Lee's "Girl 6," McG's "Fastlane," "Miami Rhapsody," "The Cosby Show" and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." Campbell recently executive-produced and was featured on the reality modeling competition series, "The Face." Additionally, she appeared in Madonna's "Erotica," Bob Marley's "Is This Love" and Michael Jackson's "In The Closet."
One of the five original supermodels, Campbell has graced more than 500 magazine covers and has been featured in campaigns for Burberry, Prada, Versace, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent and Valentino. She was the first black model to appear on the cover of Time magazine, French Vogue and Russian Vogue, as well as the first British black model to appear on the cover of British Vogue.
Campbell is also responsible for an incredible amount of fundraising and charity work in South
AFRICA and across the globe. She began charity work with Nelson Mandela in 1993, and in 1997 he named her "Honorary Granddaughter" for endless activism. In 2005, she established Fashion For Relief and hosted its first charity fashion show to raise funds for victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Since its conception in 2005, Fashion For Relief has presented shows in New York, London, Cannes, Moscow, Mumbai and Dar es Salaam, and has raised millions of dollars for various causes.
EMPIRE is from Imagine Television in association with 20th Century FOX Television. The series is created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong. The pilot is written by Daniels and Strong. The series is executive-produced by Daniels, Strong, Brian Grazer Ilene Chaiken ("The L Word") and Francie Calfo ("Those Who Kill," GANG RELATED). Daniels directed the pilot. "Like" EMPIRE on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/EmpireFOX. Follow the series on Twitter @EmpireFOX and join the discussion using #empire. See photos and videos on Instagram by following @EmpireFOX.
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