The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Movie · Drama · History

Oprah Winfrey stars in the true story of a woman's search for enlightenment about her mother--whose 'immortal' cells would save millions of lives. Henrietta Lacks was an African-American woman whose cells were used to create the first immortal human cell line, known as HeLa. Told through the eyes of Lack's daughter Deborah (Winfrey) and journalist Rebecca Skloot (Rose Byrne), the film chronicles Deborah's search to learn about the mother she never knew, and to understand how the unauthorized harvesting of Lacks' cancerous cells in 1951 led to unprecedented medical breakthroughs. Co-starring Renee Elise Goldsberry, Reg E. Cathey, Courtney B. Vance, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Leslie Uggams and Reed Birney. Directed by George C. Wolfe; screenplay by George C. Wolfe and Alexander Woo; based on the book by Rebecca Skloot.

2017 · 1h 32m
  • 69%
  • 15+
Starring Oprah Winfrey, Rose Byrne, Renée Elise Goldsberry
Director George C. Wolfe

Trailers

  • The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
    The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
    Drama

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Cast & Crew

  • Oprah Winfrey
    Deborah Lacks
  • Rose Byrne
    Rebecca Skloot
  • Renée Elise Goldsberry
    Henrietta Lacks
  • Rocky Carroll
    Sonny Lacks
  • Courtney B. Vance
    Sir Lord Keenan Cofield
  • Reg E. Cathey
    Zakariyya
  • Reed Birney
    Dr. George Gey
  • Leslie Uggams
    Sadie
  • John Benjamin Hickey
    Bill Watson
  • Ruben Santiago-Hudson
    Dr. Pattillo
  • Byron Jennings
    Dr. Victor McKusick

About

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Drama

Oprah Winfrey stars in the true story of a woman's search for enlightenment about her mother--whose 'immortal' cells would save millions of lives. Henrietta Lacks was an African-American woman whose cells were used to create the first immortal human cell line, known as HeLa. Told through the eyes of Lack's daughter Deborah (Winfrey) and journalist Rebecca Skloot (Rose Byrne), the film chronicles Deborah's search to learn about the mother she never knew, and to understand how the unauthorized harvesting of Lacks' cancerous cells in 1951 led to unprecedented medical breakthroughs. Co-starring Renee Elise Goldsberry, Reg E. Cathey, Courtney B. Vance, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Leslie Uggams and Reed Birney. Directed by George C. Wolfe; screenplay by George C. Wolfe and Alexander Woo; based on the book by Rebecca Skloot.

15+

COMMON SENSE

Real-life tearjerker shows how lies hurt, truth heals.

69%

TOMATOMETER
Average 6.5
Reviews 35
Fresh 24
Rotten 11

Information

Studio
HBO Films, Your Face Goes Here Entertainment, Harpo Films
Released
2017
Run Time
1 hr 32 min
Rated
Unrated
Region of Origin
United States
© 2017 Home Box Office Inc.

Languages

Original Audio
English, French
Audio

English (United States) (AAC, ⁨Dolby 5.1⁩), French (France) (AAC)

Subtitles

English (United States) (CC), French (France)

Accessibility

Closed captions (CC) refer to subtitles in the available language with the addition of relevant non-dialogue information.
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Select a country or region

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  • Armenia
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  • Botswana
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