Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson has signed to star in a movie adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's acclaimed 2003 novel "The Secret Life of Bees," entertainment industry press reported Thursday.

Hudson, who won an Oscar earlier this year for "Dreamgirls", will play the friend of the film's central character, a 14-year-old girl who runs away from her abusive father and is taken in by a trio of bee-keeping sisters, Daily Variety reported.

Variety reported that child prodigy Dakota Fanning was in talks with studio Fox Searchlight to play the role of the runaway.

Queen Latifah and British actress Sophie Okonedo, nominated for an Academy Award in 2005 for "Hotel Rwanda" would play two of the sisters, while singer-actress Alicia Keys was in talks to play the third.

Filming is to begin next month in North Carolina, and will be released later in 2008, Variety reported.