Actress Kiersey Clemons (Dope) has signed on to be the star in movie depicting the real life story of Lauren Simmons, the youngest and only female full time trader to work at the NYSE. Clemons has also signed on to produce the film alongside her longtime managers Eddie Galan and Starr Andreeff. This will be the first film from her new production company Girl on Mercury. Deadline first reported the news. 

Enough about the producers – the star of the show is Lauren Simmons herself. CNBC states in an article that after graduating from Kennesaw State University in Georgia, Simmons had her eyes set on a job in the medical field. After realizing that medicine wasn’t her passion she began searching for positions in finance. After securing a position at Rosenblatt Securities, Simmons was required to take the Series 19 exam. The exam is extremely difficult with Simmons only having a month to prepare. But she surprised herself by passing and earned her place on the exchange floor.

Unfortunately the floor is dominated by men that unsurprisingly are a little hesitant about a woman working alongside them. One of the most public traders on Wall Street, Peter Tuchman states “It’s a bit of a men’s club, and it has always been that way. Why are there no women in this business? It’s because men suck.” Fortunately Stacey Cunningham has become the first female president of the NYSE allowing Simmons to feel less alone. With all this information in mind it seems nearly impossible to not make this story interesting. It is very exciting to hear this kind of progress being made and makes the wait for the movie all that much harder.