BET+ is bringing a compelling true story to the screen with Fighting to Be Me: The Dwen Curry Story, set to premiere on Thursday, February 27. The film stars Dyllón Burnside (Pose, First Wives Club), who takes on the transformative role of Dwen Curry, a Detroit-born celebrity stylist with a double life—one marked by fashion, fraud, and the pursuit of self-acceptance.
This gripping drama follows Dwen’s journey from battling addiction and depression to finding success as a salon owner and celebrity stylist. But behind the glitz and glamour, Curry masterminds an underground credit card fraud operation known as The Gay Gangsters (GGs)—an enterprise that would lead to wealth, danger, and eventual downfall.
Fighting to Be Me is also a story of self-discovery, as Curry embraces her true identity as a transgender woman while navigating love, family, and the dangers of the streets.
Curry starts off as a teen struggling with drug addiction and self-acceptance, before moving to Oakland in the 1990s to get clean. There, she reinvents herself as a celebrity stylist for some of the biggest names in the industry, including LisaRaye McCoy, YoYo, Missy Elliott, DMX, and Mariah Carey.
At the same time, she builds a lucrative but dangerous underground empire, leading a network of fraud that brings her millions of dollars—and eventually, a prison sentence.
For Burnside, this role is different from his previous work, as he steps into the shoes of Dwen Curry, a character who is as fierce as she is flawed. Known for his breakout role as Ricky Evangelista in Pose, Burnside has become a celebrated voice for Black queer representation in Hollywood.
Alongside Burnside, Fighting to Be Me also stars DB Woodside, AJ Akua Johnson, Greg Mathis Jr., Mike Rob, and Maurice Alpharicio. Joe Carroll serves as the director and the film is executive produced by Tressa Azarel Smallwood, Donte Lee, Judge Gregory Mathis, Dyllón Burnside, Dwen Curry, Delece James.
Fighting to Be Me: The Dwen Curry Story premieres Thursday, February 27, exclusively on BET+.
Check out the trailer.
Photo Credit: BET+
