Angelina Jolie is gearing up for an exciting new role as Catherine the Great in a film that explores the scandalous life and love of the notorious empress.
The Oscar-winning actress has recently acquired the rights to the book “Catherine The Great And Potemkin: The Imperial Love Affair” from British historian Simon Sebag Montefiore. The best-selling work tells the story of Catherine’s love affair with the ambitious statesman Grigory Potemkin.
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After playing a few Olympias in the 2004 movie, Angelina Jolie will now transform into the great queen of Russia. Sebag Montefiore expressed his happiness over Jolie’s choice of the project, stating that it was his first book and it was created with true dedication. Catherine was the ultimate powerful woman, and he felt at ease with Jolie taking on this role.
Catherine ascended to the throne of Russia in 1762 after her husband, Tsar Peter III, was assassinated in a coup. Potemkin was one of the masterminds behind the plot and always believed that Catherine had some involvement in the death of the Tsar.
Catherine’s 27-year reign is considered a golden age in Russian history, but there were many critics of the queen who felt she lived too loose a sexual lifestyle with fleeting romances with numerous men.
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A painting of Queen Catherine
However, Catherine was particularly enamored with Potemkin, whom she loved to secretly meet in the steam baths of the Winter Palace. The couple is said to have secretly married and ruled the Russian Empire together.
“Catherine and Potemkin had one of the greatest love affairs in history. They were both extraordinary individuals, perfectly matched and deserving of each other,” Sebag Montefiore said. “They were each other’s great love, and also one of the most successful political partnerships in human history.”
