Rare indeed is the actress capable of embodying Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis’ combination of beauty, refinement, and, in the immortal appraisal of Seinfeld’s Mr. Pitt, grace. Has Mila Kunis got what it takes? Lee Daniels thinks so. The Precious director has reportedly offered the Black Swan star the role of Jackie Kennedy in his upcoming film The Butler, a biopic about legendary White House servant Eugene Allen.
Should Kunis accept the role, she’ll be the latest in a long line of actresses who’ve portrayed the iconic First Lady on both the big and small screens. (Emphasis on the latter – Jackie O’s story has long been irresistible fodder for network programmers.) Here are five memorable examples:
Katie Holmes
Holmes played Jackie last year in The Kennedys, an eight-episode miniseries that was most notable for being declared unfit for airing on The History Channel, a network hardly known for its high programming standards.
Jill Hennessy
The Crossing Jordan star tackled the role in the 2001 TV movie Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot, about the trials and tribulations of being married to the Kennedys’ D.C. power trio of JFK, RFK, and Ted.
Roma Downey
Before she was Touched By an Angel, Downey portrayed Jackie to some acclaim in the 1991 TV miniseries A Woman Named Jackie, which went on to win a Primetime Emmy for Best Miniseries.
Jaclyn Smith
The model-turned-Charlie’s Angels star proved her range in the 1981 TV movie Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, which chronicled Jackie’s early years leading up to her marriage to the future president.
Jacqueline Bisset
British-born Bisset portrayed Jackie in the 2003 TV movie America’s Prince: The John F. Kennedy Jr. Story, about the short life and tragic death of JFK’s dilettante son.
Which was your favorite of Jackie?