Jennifer Lopez is going from playing a cop on NBC’s drama “Shades of Blue” to playing notorious drug lord Griselda Blanco for an HBO movie. According to Variety, the film focuses on the rise and fall of Blanco, known as “The Cocaine Godmother,” who revolutionized the U.S. drug trade during the 1970s and 1980s and became the most powerful female cartel member of all time. Previously, Univision had already developed a telenovela based on Blanco’s life called “La Viuda Negra,” who starred Ana Serradilla in the leading role.
“I’ve been fascinated by the life of this corrupt and complicated woman for many years,” Lopez said. “The idea of teaming with HBO felt like the perfect fit for finally bringing Griselda’s story to life.” In addition to starring, JLo will also be executive producing the film with her company Nuyorican Productions. So far, she’s the only celebrity confirmed in this project.
You may be wondering, who is Griselda Blanco and just how big was she? Griselda Blanco is the real-life drug godmother. Originally from Colombia, Griselda was a pioneer of drug trafficking in the United States, specifically in New York and, eventually, Miami. There she became the "Cocaine Godmother," one of the fiercest and most influential drug leaders in the 1970s and early 1980s. In light of the new HBO film, here are 5 things to know about her.
1. Medellín's Mistress. Although she was actually born in Cartagena, Blanco moved to Medellín with her mother when she was 3 years old. It was here that she first began her life in crime. Joining a petty criminal gang at age 10, she allegedly kidnapped, tried to ransom, and eventually shot a child from a wealthy family. She continued her life in petty crime, drugs and prostitution, marrying her first husband Jose Darío Trujillo and having three sons.
2. The First Colombian Druglord. In the mid 1970s, Blanco moved to New York with her second husband, Alberto Bravo. Here, they established a sizable cocaine importing business. Despite being indicted on drug conspiracy charges in 1975, Blanco fled to Colombia before returning to Miami in the 1970s to continue her drug trade. There, she became known as the "Cocaine Godmother," the first Colombian drug lord to export cocaine to the US and the mentor for many future drug kingpins. Her network brought in $80 million a month.
3. The Black Widow. Blanco's nickname came about due to her propensity for killing former lovers and husbands. She murdered her first lover, known only as "Cejas" while she was still a teenager. She killed her second husband, Alberto Bravo, after she supposedly found out he was stealing both money and drugs from her empire. She also murdered her third husband, Darío Sepúlveda, after he kidnapped their youngest son Michael.
4. A Godmother Who Loved The Godfather. Blanco was reportedly a huge fan of "The Godfather" movies, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Al Pacino. So much so, in fact, that she named her youngest son after the title character: Michael Corleone. She fancied herself as a female equivalent of the great don.
5. Arrested And Assasintated. Blanco was arrested in 1985 by the DEA. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison. However, after serving only a decade, she was released when the case collapsed due to technicalities. She was deported to Colombia, where she went back to live in relative peace back in Medellín. She was killed by two sicarios (assassins) as she walked out of Carnicería Cardiso in barrio Belén in Medellín, at 3:00 pm on Monday September 3, 2012.
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