All it took for Penelope Cruz to transform into Italian fashion icon, Donatella Versace, was a blonde wig and tons of makeup. In the new biopic, Cruz expertly channels Versace. Titled, ‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,’ the series focuses on the death of Gianni Versace.
This will be director and producer Ryan Murphy’s third American Crime Story series. His first was in 2016 which won a number of awards including Best Television Limited Series. It will be 10 episodes long and air next year after filming at the Versace mansion in Miami is complete.
When Gianni was gunned down at age 50 in front of his beachside home in July 1997 the fashion world was shocked. Years later, the story hasn’t been forgotten. Donatella worked closely with her brother on many projects and took over his role at the company, which he founded, to continue his legacy.
Gianni is being played by Edgar Ramirez who you may have seen in The Bourne Ultimatum. The film also stars Ricky Martin as Gianni’s lover Antonio D’Amico and Darren Criss from Fox’s Glee as killer Andrew Cunanan.
American Crime story to premiere in 2018.