Nia Long says portraying Katherine Jackson in 'Michael' was 'opportunity of a lifetime'

Nia Long attends the New York City Ballet 2025 Spring Gala at Lincoln Center on May 08, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

Nia Long has experience as a mother, but she’s never raised a superstar. That temporarily changes on screen, where she’s set to portray Katherine Jackson in the upcoming biopic Michael.

“I know what it is to be a mother,” she says in an interview with People. “But I don't know what it is to raise a superstar.”

She describes Katherine’s story as one “rooted in grace,” and says that it seems the matriarch of the Jackson family has a “strong and kind” spirit.

Though she has not seen the film or met Katherine in person, Nia hopes Katherine enjoys the movie, which she describes as “an opportunity of a lifetime — and not kind of a dream come true, a dream come true.”

“All of these wonderful things are happening at once, and ... I haven't wrapped my head around everything yet," she tells People. "I know I've worked really hard for everything, but it hasn't landed yet. It still feels not real. ... I’m feeling really, really blessed right now.”

Michael, which stars MJ's nephew and Jermaine Jackson’s son Jafaar Jackson as the King of Pop, arrives in theaters on April 24, 2026.