Kerry Washington to lead Django Unchained

It has been a long casting process, but today Quentin Tarantino finally found his Broomhilda.

Kerry Washington has landed the lead female role in Django Unchained .

The search has come to an end with Tarantino getting the actress he had his eye on from the beginning.

Kerry Washington, who had roles in Ray and The Last King Of Scotland and is to appear alongside Eddie Murphy in upcoming comedy A Thousand Words , has been rumoured for the part for a while.

She has now been confirmed, with producers The Weinstein Company entering negotiations with her representatives last night.

Washington will play Broomhilda, the wife of the titular Django (Jamie Foxx) and the woman who inspires his rampage of revenge.

The New York born actress will be surrounded by an A-list cast, with Leonardo Di Caprio, Samuel L Jackson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Kurt Russell and Christoph Waltz all signed on to the project.

The film is scheduled for release on Christmas Day 2012