The Oscar-winning actress has signed on to topline the David Kirschner Prods./Phoenix Pictures biopic Miss Potter, based on the life of children's book author Beatrix Potter.

Ewan McGregor has also started negotiations to join the cast of the film. The Island star would play Norman Warne, the love interest of Renee Zellweger's character.

Chris Noonan will be back behind the camera for the project, which is slated to begin shooting in the U.K. this March. The movie marks the director's first project since 1995's Babe.

The screenplay penned by Richard Maltby Jr., centers on the life of the author as she tries to find her independence in Victorian England. The writer included tales featuring classic characters such as Peter Rabbit and Tom Kitten.
Her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, was initially rejected by six publishers, but when it finally came out in 1902, it became an overnight success.

The author, born in London in 1866, was secretly engaged to Warne, her publisher.

He died soon after the engagement, leaving Potter devastated. At the age of 47, however, she married her solicitor, William Heelis. Potter used the success of her books to invest in hill farms and left 4,000 acres of land in the Lake District to the National Trust when she died in 1943.

Mike Medavoy, Arnie Messer and David Thwaites will produce for Phoenix, with David Kirschner and Corey Sienega taking on those duties for DKP.

The film will be financed by Grosvenor Park, while Summit Entertainment will be in charge of international sales and distribution.

Renee Zellweger, who will receive executive producing credit, is currently attached to provide a voice in DreamWorks Animation's Bee Movie and stars in Piece of My Heart, a biopic of legendary rocker Janis Joplin.