Emily Bader Will Portray Retired Soccer Legend Mia Hamm in Netflix Film ‘The 99’ers’ Directed by Nicole Kassell
Netflix Taps Emily Bader to Star as Mia Hamm in Upcoming Film ‘The 99’ers’
In a significant move following the success of her latest film, People We Meet on Vacation, which recently topped the Global Top 10 English Film list with 17.2 million views, Netflix has cast rising star Emily Bader to portray the legendary soccer player Mia Hamm in the upcoming film The 99’ers.
The 99’ers is inspired by Jeré Longman’s 2000 HarperPerennial publication, The Girls of Summer: The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team and How It Changed the World. The narrative focuses on the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team during the summer of 1999, chronicling their journey to victory in a thrilling penalty shootout against China in the World Cup final, witnessed by 93,000 fans. This historic win not only captivated audiences globally but also transformed the landscape of women’s sports.
Mia Hamm is celebrated as one of the greatest players in women’s soccer history. She began her career with the U.S. Women’s National Team at the age of 15 in 1987, becoming the youngest player ever to join the senior squad. Over her legendary career, she earned multiple World Cup victories and Olympic gold medals, twice being named FIFA World Player of the Year. Hamm concluded her playing days as the world’s leading international goal scorer with 158 goals, a record that stood for years, and was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2007. Beyond her athletic achievements, she is currently a co-owner of Los Angeles FC and Angel City FC and serves as a global ambassador for FC Barcelona.
Directed by Nicole Kassell, known for her Emmy-winning work on HBO’s Watchmen and Netflix’s Sirens, The 99’ers features a screenplay by Katie Lovejoy, Dana Stevens, and Peter Hedges. The film is produced by Liza Chasin of 3Dot Productions, alongside Hayley Stool and Ross Greenburg, with Marla Messing, Jill Mazursky, and Krista Smith as executive producers.
Bader recently starred in the romantic comedy People We Meet on Vacation, alongside Tom Blyth. Directed by Brett Haley, the film premiered on January 9 and is based on the bestselling novel by Emily Henry. Previously, Bader garnered attention in Prime Video’s My Lady Jane and appeared in the mob drama Fresh Kills, which debuted at the Tribeca Festival. She is represented by CAA, Untitled Entertainment, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.
Kassell is represented by WME, Entertainment 360, and Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz; Lovejoy by Kaplan/Perrone Entertainment, CAA, and Myman Greenspan Fox; Stevens by UTA, Untitled Entertainment, and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole; and Hedges by Untitled Entertainment and Brecheen Feldman Breimer.
