Madam C.J. Walker True Story: What Netflix’s Self-Made Changed

Netflix’s Self Made tells the true story of Madam C.J. Walker, but not everything in the four-part, limited-run series really happened. Based on the biography On Her Own Ground written by her great-great-granddaughter A’Lelia Bundles, the miniseries does take some liberties with reality. In real life, Madam C.J. Walker (born Sarah Breedlove) was indeed a pioneering businesswoman. She worked her way from nothing to running the Walker Manufacturing Company, a haircare empire. According to Guinness World Records, she was America’s first self-made female African-American millionaire.