Downton Abbey star bags lead role in compelling drama about youngest female billionaire
The film is based on the real-life story of the founder of two online dating platforms.
Downton Abbey star Lily James has landed a lead role as Whitney Wolfe Herd in the upcoming Disney Plus film, Swiped.
The film will air on Disney+ from September 19 and follows recent college grad Whitney as she breaks into the male-dominated tech industry. Little did she know she would become the youngest female self-made billionaire after creating two online dating apps.
The film, which James also produced, stars the likes of Jackson White, Myha’la, Ben Schnetzer, Pierson Fodé, Clea DuVall, Pedro Correa, Ian Colleti, Coral Peña, and Dan Stevens. Disney+ released a trailer for the film, showing how Whitney's dating apps Bumble and Tinder became overnight goldmines.
The real Whitney Wolfe Herd, 36, has an estimated net worth of $400 million according to Forbes.
In February 2021, she became the world's youngest female billionaire when she took Bumble public.
The entrepreneur is the youngest woman to have taken a company public in the United States, which she did at age 31.
Viewers took to the trailer comments to share their thoughts, with @RapidityVirology saying: "Mood instantly lifted. Thank you for this."
@saj.p6464 shared: "Great to see lily on this!! Will be watching."
@MoorishBrooklyn added: "The business and hustle of love. I'll give it a watch."
James spoke to Whowhatwear.com about coming on board behind the scenes, sharing: "It felt quite like an organic moment.
"Our remit is to find those stories that really champion women's stories, women with great grit and tenacity who have gone on to achieve things."
The film marks one of the first from Parodos Productions, the production company James started with her close friend and fellow actor Gala Gordon.
Swiped will air on Disney+ and Hulu from September 19