Ellen Barkin has been tapped for her first starring role in a TV series - playing an older woman who finds herself newly single after ending her high-profile marriage. Ironically, the 54-year-old actress walked out on her second husband, billionaire investor Ron Perelman, in 2006.
The actress, whose role in 1997 miniseries Before Women Had Wings earned her a Golden Globe nomination, will also produce the untitled half-hour pilot episode for U.S. cable network HBO.
Scriptwriter Shauna Cross says, You have this character in her early 50s... whose life explodes unexpectedly. Her nerve and life experience allows her to tell the world to go screw itself, and they love her for it.