Hidden Figures is an incredible untold story of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson—three African-American women who worked at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in space history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit and his safe return to Earth.
Written and directed by Theodore Melfi, the film stars Taraji P. Henson as Katherine Johnson, Octavia Spencer as Dorothy Vaughan and Janelle Monáe as Mary Jackson, with Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Glen Powell, and Mahershala Ali in supporting roles.
The film brings light to these women who played integral roles in NASA's early successes but were left out of the history books. Octavia Spencer who stars as Dorothy Vaughan told Deadline: "At first, I thought it was fiction. But it's an embarrassment that these women were omitted from the annals for history. I’m excited because the world will finally know these names. They will no longer be obscure."
The real women of Hidden Figures (from left to right): Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorotyh Vaughan.
Set in the 1960s and the white and male-dominated field of STEM, the film draws strong attention to these wildly intelligent women who, in the face of constant racism and misogyny, were able to cross gender and race lines, inspiring generations that anyone can reach for the stars.
