Tessa Thompson to play high-fashion jewel thief Doris Payne in new biopic

Payne—who’s 87 now, and who still regularly makes headlines for getting arrested for shoplifting—started her spree in the 1950s, walking into high-class jewelry stores, asking to see a variety of pieces, and then, after distracting the clerk to the point that they lost track of the exact number of items on display, slipping a few into her pocket. Her most notable heist came in the 1970s, when she stole a diamond ring valued at $500,000 in Monte Carlo. She was later caught by the cops for that one, but was eventually let go when they failed to ever find the ring.

Thompson will co-produce the biopic with Codeblack Films, which recently acquired the film rights to Payne’s life. She also recently starred in Creed and the first season of Westworld, and is slated to appear in Alex Garland’s upcoming film Annihilation, out later this month.