Jane Fonda has joined the cast of The Butler for Precious director Lee Daniels. The actress will portray First Lady Nancy Reagan in this biopic about longtime White House butler Eugene Allen.

We reported earlier this month that Forest Whitaker will play Allen, who first started working at the White House under President Harry S. Truman in 1952, and retired in 1986 during Ronald Reagan's second term. Oprah Winfrey is in talks to play Allen's wife, and David Oyelowo is negotiating to play Allen's son. Liam Neeson and John Cusack are also circling the presidential roles of Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon.

Lee Daniels is directing The Butler from a screenplay he co-wrote with Danny Strong. No casting deals are fully locked in yet, although production is expected to begin sometime this summer.