Tucker Tooley Entertainment has acquired the TV rights to a pair of books about First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis with plans to develop them into a limited series.
Variety has learned exclusively that the company has acquired the rights to the books ““Jackie: Public, Private, Secret” and “Jackie, Janet and Lee,” both written by by J. Randy Taraborrelli. The former book delves into many never-before-told details of Onassis’ life, while the second is a biography of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, her mother Janet Lee Auchincloss, and her sister, Princess Lee Radziwill. The books are published by St. Martin’s Press.
“Jackie Onassis is one of the most iconic, timeless, and multifaceted women of the twentieth century,” said Tooley. “Randy’s extraordinary access and meticulous reporting provide an incredible vehicle for two talented actresses to bring to life Onassis and her mother, Janet. We are excited to connect a whole new generation of viewers to Camelot.”
Tooley will executive produce along with Greg Renker, Gregoire Gensollen, and Christian Parent from Tucker Tooley Entertainment. Taraborrelli will executive produce and write the pilot.
“In previous tellings of her life, Jackie has always been viewed through the lens of her famous in-laws, the Kennedys,” Taraborelli said. “But in my two books, she’s finally seen through the eyes of her own family members, the Bouviers and Auchinclosses. This is a Jackie the public never knew about as she grapples with lifelong PTSD over the murder of her husband while also becoming her mother’s primary caregiver during her battle with Alzheimer’s. I’m so excited to bring these compelling new Jackie stories to television for the first time with my producing partners, Tucker, Greg, Gregoire and Christian.”
Tucker Tooley Entertainment is a film and television finance and production company. Founded by Tooley and Renker, their projects include “The Deliverance” at Netflix as well as “Den of Thieves” and the upcoming sequel, “Concrete Cowboy,” and “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.”
Taraborrelli is a Kennedy historian with 17 New York Times bestsellers to his name. Five of those are about the Kennedys. He has also written books on contemporary figures like Madonna, Beyonce, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, and the Hiltons. He is repped by Judy Coppage of The Coppage Company and Laurie Megery of Myman Greenspan.
This is the latest announced television project about the Kennedy family. Variety previously reported that Netflix is developing a limited series about JFK with Eric Roth attached to write.
