It's Happening: Netflix Is Making a Movie Adaptation of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, the bestselling historical fiction romance novel by Taylor Jenkin’s Reid, is finally getting its own film adaptation.
The internet has been raving about this book for what feels like ages. And even beyond Goodreads, Bookstagram, and BookTok, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo has also been an immovable fixture on The New York Times Bestseller Paperback List, now going on its 54th week.
The novel tells the tragic story of fictional Old Hollywood icon, Evelyn Hugo. Born from nothing, Evelyn ends up becoming the most famous and most scandalous celebrity of her time by going unthinkable lengths to escape her uninspiring origins. Everyone in the world knows Evelyn’s name—but after years of recluse and dodging the press, retired, 79-year-old Evelyn finally reemerges, and gives her final interview to unknown journalist Monique Grant. For reasons unknown until the very end, Evelyn tells Monique everything: every secret she hid, both of others’ and of her own. Every sacrifice and scheme she pulled to earn and keep her career. Every person she lied to, manipulated, or married to get what she wanted.
Yet, despite all she’s done, and despite all the controversy attached to her name—seven different husbands, per se—Evelyn Hugo is irresistible. And with sex, scandal, love, and deep tragedy, her story has everything that makes for a riveting blockbuster.
The Netflix movie adaptation of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo will be handled by Liz Tigelaar: the creator, showrunner, and executive producer of Little Fires Everywhere, the Emmy-nominated Hulu series that was also based on a bestselling book.
Another one of Reid’s New York Times bestsellers, Malibu Rising, will also be adapted by Tigelaar for Hulu and 20th Century Television, where Tigelaar will be serving as the EP. The story of Malibu Rising takes place in the same fictional universe as The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo; the main characters, the Riva siblings, are the famous children of one among the many men on Evelyn’s long, brow-raising list of celebrity husbands.
Daisy Jones & the Six by Reid was also selected by Reese Witherspoon for her book club in 2019, and is now in production with Witherspoon’s company, Hello Sunshine, as a ten-part series for Amazon. This is a story about the rise of another fictional icon, 1970s rock band Daisy Jones & the Six, and the mystery behind their infamous breakup. The series adaptation boasts a star-studded cast, featuring Riley Keough (the granddaughter of Elvis Presley), Sam Claflin, and Suki Waterhouse.
Reid has amassed a cult following for her books depicting the glamorous lifestyles of the rich and famous. She owns—and arguably, invented—the niche of celebrity-adjacent historical fiction, and has mastered the art of tapping into the mass desire for easy, entertaining, and fully engrossing escapism. If all the on-screen adaptations are anything like her books, then we’re fully prepared to block off every hour needed to fit these stories into our schedules.
