Welcome to The Daily Show.
Uh, it's truly an honor for me
because you are one of my favorite actors
that I've ever had the pleasure of watching.
-Oh, my God. Thank you. -Genuinely you are.
And, uh, I'm excited to see you in telling this story, as well,
because you're telling the tale of an amazing black woman
-who overcame the odds... -Mm-hmm.
...to create an empire that no one thought was possible--
-C.J. Walker, Madam C.J. Walker. -Yeah.
Tell me about the story and why you chose to create it.
Well, Madam C.J., uh, was a standard bearer in my home.
My mom used her as an example, uh, for me and my siblings,
because we were from very humble beginnings.
And Madam was, uh, born a slave, uh,
was the first to be free in her family.
And, um, she was able to, as you said,
-to, uh, just achieve so much... -Right.
...through insurmountable odds.
And she didn't have the right to vote or really own property.
She was born Sarah Breedlove.
She became Madam C.J. Walker through marriage.
Um, and through her marriage,
uh, and basically in name,
uh, became one of the most powerful women of her time.
It really is fascinating when you watch the story because,
essentially, she made the Fenty Beauty of her time.
-(laughing): She did. -(laughter)
-That's-that's what she did. -Yes.
Because here she was as a black woman who realized
that black women weren't being catered to at all.
I mean, something that, surprisingly,
is still a story today in beauty and in products and in care.
And she said, "I'm gonna make something for my people,
and I'm gonna put my face on it," which was a big deal.
-Yeah. -You show that in the story, where people were like,
"Oh, you see, Madam C.J. Walker, you can't just..."
Why do you think it was so important for her
to put her face on that product when so many said,
"That face won't sell a product"?
Because someone said, "That face won't sell a product."
-Mm. -You know, I guess if-if she, uh, did... was...
created the Fenty of her time, does that make me Rihanna?
-(laughter) -Because, like... -It does.
It does. It basically does.
(applause and cheering)
It really does.
Ah. Oh. You know, I... that, uh...
But in all seriousness, um, I think she-she put her face
on the product because someone said that she wasn't beautiful.
-Right. -And, um, I think
she wanted to be beautiful in her husband's eyes.
But when she realized her own beauty,
that's when she became powerful.
It really is an amazing story of this woman who has an idea,
overcomes insurmountable odds,
-is not a perfect person, as well. -No.
And that's what I love about the show is
you showing us a human being who creates this empire.
And people have had to estimate her net worth,
-because at the time, there was no Forbes. -Right.
But some people estimated that in 1919,
she had a net worth of ten million dollars.
-Ten million dollars, yeah. -Which is a lot of money,
-especially for back then. -Yeah.
I mean, it's a lot of money now. A ton of money back then.
-Yeah. -When you look at her story, I-I would honestly
be hard-pressed to not think of how many parallels
you share with her in real life, because, you know,
you've been outspoken about the journey many black people,
-black women, specifically, face in Hollywood. -Mm-hmm. Yeah.
You know, the-the challenges of not just having work,
-but having control of your work, creating work. -Right.
You have now begun a journey
of Madam C.J. Walker through Hollywood.
I believe you're creating, what, ten projects as we speak?
Yeah, I... uh, a few.
-Yes! I mean... -(applause and cheering)
What-what has that... what has that journey been like?
You know, I-I... I think that
you-you touched on something really important to me,
because so many people have asked me, uh,
"What is the role that you feel you're destined to play?"
And for me, it is producer,
because not only am I creating opportunities for myself,
but for so many other people who've been marginalized,
whose voices haven't been heard, whose stories haven't been told.
-Right. -And, um, we just had such synergy,
um, uh, with the-the diversity, uh, of women
who-who were a part of this.
And-and I feel very grateful that I got to be a part of it.
Before I let you go,
I know that LeBron James is also one of the...
-Is he one of the producers on the show? -Yes, yes.
Uh, SpringHill Entertainment, uh, Maverick,
everybody over there-- um, they've just... LeBron.
They've been amazing, uh, to partner with.
Uh, you know, when I was making my deal,
uh, we had reached an impasse with the studio.
And I'm one of those people...
Because I told you, I'm from humble beginnings.
You know, I need, like,
some meatloaf, some potatoes,
-some good murder mysteries. -Right.
You know, I-I live beneath my means
so that I'm not living, uh,
-in golden handcuffs. -Right. Right.
-And I can walk away from the negotiating table. -Mm-hmm.
And I was prepared to walk away.
And, uh, Lebron and Maverick intervened on my behalf,
and we had to have that advocacy until women are,
you know, treated fairly, uh, with regard to the pay gap.
-Well, LeBron with another assist. -Yes, a big assist.
Thank you so much for sharing that story.
-Thank you for being on the show. -Thank you.
I hope everyone watches this.
"Self Made: Inspired by the Real Life of Madam C.J. Walker
will be on Netflix March 20. Octavia Spencer, everybody.