Kenyan-Mexican actress, Lupita Nyong’o was born in Mexico when her Kenyan parents were in political exile. She’s a global star who has appeared in two Disney franchises, Star Wars and Marvel’s Black Panther. Nyong’o is a brand name in films from Queen of Katwe to The Jungle Book; this black beauty is also a fashion icon whose image has appeared on four Vogue covers.
She attended college in the United States, earning a bachelor’s degree in film and theater studies from Hampshire College. Nyong’o began her career in Hollywood as a production assistant. In 2008, she made her acting debut with the short film East River and subsequently returned to Kenya to star in the television series Shuga. She made her Broadway debut as a teenage orphan in the critically acclaimed play Eclipsed (2015), for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.
As of 2018, Nyong’o will be making her writing debut with a book entitled Sulwe, which will be published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Sulwe (Luo for star) is the story of a five year old Kenyan girl, who has the darkest complexion in her family, for which Nyong’o drew upon her own childhood experiences. On screen, she will star as a teacher named Miss Caroline in Abe Forsythe’s horror-romance Little Monsters.
Nyong’o is also developing a television series based on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel Americanah, which she will produce and star in. In addition, she will produce and star in Born a Crime, a film adaptation of Trevor Noah’s memoir of the same name, in which she will play Noah’s mother, Patricia, and will star alongside Viola Davis in The Woman King, a drama based on the Dahomey Amazons.
Photo Credit: Lupita Nyong’o
