Entertainment TV See Showtime's 'The First Lady' Cast Side-by-Side with the Real-Life People The first season of the anthology series stars Viola Davis as Michelle Obama, Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford and Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt. See the cast side-by-side with their real-life counterparts By Kelsie Gibson Kelsie Gibson Twitter Kelsie Gibson is the SEO Editor of PEOPLE Digital. Since joining the brand in 2021, she has contributed to a number of different verticals, writing and editing SEO content ranging from relationship timelines to TV and movie explainers. Prior to joining PEOPLE, Kelsie worked at POPSUGAR as the Celebrity and Entertainment editor, where she wrote and edited content and conducted various interviews for online and video at press junkets, red carpets, and events such as Tribeca Film Festival. She was also formerly at Bustle, Tiger Beat, and Her Campus and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. People Editorial Guidelines Published on April 17, 2022 10:00 AM Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Jackson Lee Davis/SHOWTIME; TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty 01 of 10 Viola Davis as Michelle Obama Jackson Lee Davis/SHOWTIME; YURI GRIPAS/AFP/Getty In addition to producing The First Lady, Viola Davis also stars as Michelle Obama on the show. "It's terrifying," Davis said about playing Obama on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. "Because sometimes someone doesn't live up to whatever image you have in your head. But when they do live up to the image, it's quite frightening." 02 of 10 O-T Fagbenle as Barack Obama Jackson Lee Davis/SHOWTIME; Joshua Roberts-Pool/Getty O-T Fagbenle plays President Barack Obama on the series, opposite Davis' Michelle Obama. "Barack Obama came alive during the social media movement, he's one of the most recognizable people, so [the challenge was] finding a way of playing a character, discovering a character and not doing an imitation," The Handmaid's Tale actor told Variety of playing Obama. He continued, "It was very hard … Playing him over the span of 15 years is a challenge, as well, but it was a beautiful challenge." 03 of 10 Lexi Underwood as Malia Obama Jackson Lee Davis/SHOWTIME; Pete Souza/The White House/Getty Lexi Underwood plays Malia Obama on the series, and the resemblance is uncanny. The Little Fires Everywhere actress said she tapped into a "different side" of herself to play the eldest Obama daughter. "With me being from Washington, D.C., I tapped into a younger Lexi that lived in D.C. I can relate to living in the midst of politics and feeling like you're too young or limited to speak up for what your passionate about," she told theGrio. "Malia's story about how she uses her voice and platform just while being in the house is something just so exciting to see." 04 of 10 Saniyya Sidney as Sasha Obama Jackson Lee Davis/SHOWTIME; Kevin Mazur/WireImage After playing young Venus Williams in King Richard, Saniyya Sidney stars as Sasha Obama on The First Lady. This isn't Sidney's first time working with Davis, as she previously starred alongside her in the 2016 film Fences. "I love her and I've always loved her," Sidney said about the Oscar-winning actress on Today. "It's really cool and this story is really nice," she continued about starring on The First Lady. 05 of 10 Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt Daniel McFadden/SHOWTIME; Bettmann/Getty Gillian Anderson went from playing British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on The Crown to playing First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt on The First Lady. "Gillian Anderson is an actress of incredible range and exquisite talent — she is the perfect choice to complete this powerhouse trio, who will inhabit the roles of these iconic women," Amy Israel, executive vice president of scripted programming at Showtime Networks Inc., said in a statement when Anderson was first cast. 06 of 10 Kiefer Sutherland as Franklin D. Roosevelt Boris Martin/SHOWTIME; Bettmann/Getty Alongside Anderson, Kiefer Sutherland will star as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the longest-running president in the United States and the only American president to have served more than two terms. 07 of 10 Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford Murray Close/SHOWTIME; Bettmann/Getty Michelle Pfeiffer is set to play First Lady Betty Ford. During an interview with Today, Pfeiffer revealed that she signed on to star as Ford before ever reading a script for the show. "I knew about — like most people — she's very famous for the Betty Ford Clinic, which has, again, saved hundreds of thousands of people's lives," Pfeiffer said. "And, obviously, her issues with substance abuse. So that, in and of itself, was a really interesting story to tell. And I felt really important." 08 of 10 Aaron Eckhart as Gerald Ford Murray Close/SHOWTIME; David Hume Kennerly/Getty Aaron Eckhart is set to play President Gerald Ford, who served as the 38th President of the United States as well as the 40th Vice President of the United States. 09 of 10 Dakota Fanning as Susan Ford Murray Close/SHOWTIME; Bettmann/Getty Dakota Fanning is set to play Susan Ford, the daughter of Gerald and Betty Ford. This isn't Fanning's first time portraying a real person, as she previously played Squeaky Fromme in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Cherie Currie in The Runaways. 10 of 10 Rhys Wakefield as Dick Cheney Murray Close/SHOWTIME; Hb/AP/Shutterstock The show will also feature Rhys Wakefield as a young Dick Cheney, who served as Chief of Staff to President Gerald Ford before eventually becoming the 46th vice president under President George W. Bush years later.