The third season of American Crime Story is set to begin production, and while we’ve known the subject of the series would be the assassination of Gianni Versace in 1997, no one had been announced to play his sister Donatella. That is, until now.
It was announced yesterday that Spanish actress Penélope Cruz has signed on to play Donatella Versace, and will star alongside Edgar Ramirez and Darren Criss. Versace: American Crime Story will examine the July 1997 assassination of Versace on the steps of his Miami Beach mansion by serial killer Andrew Cunanan. Ramirez will play Versace while Criss is set to star as Cunanan. The series by Ryan Murphy, Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson has already won several Emmy Awards for their first season, The People v. O. J. Simpson.
Versace: American Crime Story is based on the book by Vanity Fair writer Maureen Orth, and will begin production next month in Los Angeles. It’s set to premiere in 2018, just six month after American Crime Story’s second season, based on events surrounding Hurricane Katrina, is due to end.
Cruz won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2009 for her role in Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona, but has not appeared on U.S. Television before. She is set to star in Escobar and Murder on the Orient Express later this year.
Photo: Tabercil on Wikipedia
