A'Lelia Bundles Is On A Mission To Tell The Truth About Madam C.J. Walker
The new Netflix miniseries, “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker,” has sparked a renewed interest in the life of the famed entrepreneur, and A’Lelia Bundles is grateful for it.
“Millions of people now know who Madam Walker is,” Bundles, who wrote the biography that inspired the four-part miniseries about the cosmetics and hair care mogul, told HuffPost. “Now it gives me an opportunity to tell Madam Walker’s story and to tell the facts of the story.”
The facts of Walker’s life have been murky for some time, but Bundles dedicated 20 years of research to clear up some of the confusion that surrounds the millionaire’s life. That’s why, though she believed Octavia Spencer’s portrayal of Walker was amazing, there’s no substitute for the actual history.
“I really do hope people will read the book because there’s no way to put all of this life into four 45-minute episodes,” Bundles explained. “There’s a lot that I did to try to create context and historical context. And what happens in Hollywood is very different from what happens for me as a journalist. And for me, as a biographer, I’m really sticking to the facts. Everything that I put in my books can be documented.”
Netflix consulted Bundles for the miniseries, but ultimately the show was a dramatization based on Walker’s life, with fictional characters and scenes added. We talked with Bundles on Instagram Live about the miniseries and her book.
What are some of the other things people should know about Madam C.J. Walker and her daughter that were omitted from the miniseries?
For me, what’s really important about her life was that she was nurtured, mentored, and empowered by other women. And part of that is how she got to the point of doing that for other women. When she was the poor Sarah Breedlove-McWilliams, widowed at 20, who moved from Louisiana to Mississippi, along the Mississippi River to St Louis. She had three older brothers who were...
