Lupita Nyong’o: Actress Lupita Amondi Nyong’o, a Kenyan-Mexican, was born on March 1, 1983. She has received numerous honors, such as an Academy Award, and has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award.
She was born in Mexico City, where her father was a professor, and reared in Kenya starting at the age of three. She is the daughter of Kenyan politician Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o. She went to college in the US and graduated from Hampshire College with a bachelor’s degree in film and theatre studies. Later, she started working as a production assistant in Hollywood.
With the short film East River, she made her acting debut in 2008. She later returned to Kenya to appear in the television series Shuga (2009–2012). She subsequently went to Yale School of Drama to get a master’s in acting. Soon after receiving her degree, she landed her first leading role in a feature film, playing Patsey in Steve McQueen’s biopic 12 Years a Slave (2013), for which she earned the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
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In the 2015 play Eclipsed, in which she played a teenage orphan, Nyong’o made her Broadway debut. For this role, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She then went on to play Maz Kanata in the Star Wars sequel trilogy (2015–2019) using motion capture, and she voiced Raksha in The Jungle Book (2016). With her portrayal as Nakia in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero movies Black Panther (2018) and its sequel (2022), as well as her lead part in Jordan Peele’s horror movie Us, Nyong’o’s career advanced (2019).
Lupita Nyong’o is an advocate for historic preservation in addition to acting. She speaks against sexual harassment and promotes women’s, animal, and environmental rights. She was awarded the most attractive lady of 2014 by People. Sulwe, a children’s book Nyong’o wrote in 2019, shot to the top of the New York Times Best-Seller list. For narrating two episodes of the docuseries Serengeti, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Narrator. Forbes recognized Nyong’o in 2020 as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Africa.
How Was The Early Life of Lupita Nyong’o?
Lupita Amondi Nyong’o was born to Kenyan parents on March 1, 1983, in Mexico City. Due to political repression and turbulence, her family fled Kenya in 1980, and her father, Peter Anyang Nyong’o, was a visiting professor at the El Colegio de Mexico.
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Lupita Nyong’o, the second of six children and holds dual citizenship with Kenya and Mexico, describes herself as Kenyan-Mexican. Her father was employed as a professor at the University of Nairobi when she was less than a year old, and the family moved back to Kenya.
Lupita Nyong’o began acting professionally when she was fourteen in a “Romeo and Juliet” performance by the Nairobi-based Phoenix Players. As a young adult, Nyong’o participated in local productions in Nairobi. In 2001, Nyong’o received an IB Diploma from St. Mary’s School in Nairobi. She pursued a degree in film and theatre studies at Hampshire College in the United States as part of her continuing education.
When Did Lupita Nyong’o Begin Her Career In Hollywood?
Lupita Nyong’o’s breakthrough role, which propelled her to popularity in Hollywood, came soon after receiving her Yale degree; she was chosen to play Patsey in the 2013 Steve McQueen picture “12 Years a Slave.” She received numerous award nominations for her successful acting debut in Hollywood, which critics praised.
She received nominations for two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was not only nominated for all of the awards, but she also took home the Best Supporting Female Oscar, making history’s only other black actress to accomplish so. She also holds the distinction of being the first Kenyan and African actress to win an Oscar.
After playing a supporting role in the movie “Non-Stop” (2014), Nyong’o went on to co-star as the space pirate Maz Kanata in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (2015). Nyong’o’s character in “Star Wars” was produced using motion capture technology and CGI. Therefore she does not appear on screen as herself. Nyong’o came back to the theatre on stage in 2015 when she starred in a production of the play “Eclipsed” by Danai Gurira.
The play debuted at the John Golden Theatre the following year after moving to Broadway, becoming the fastest-selling new production in The Public Theater’s recent history. The display created an account by being the first play to have its Broadway premiere with an all-black female cast and crew.
The live-action/CGI adaptation of the 1967 animated picture “The Jungle Book” marked Nyong’o’s comeback to the big screen in 2016. She performed the wolf Raksha’s voice. Then, in 2016, she co-starred with Mira Nair in “Queen of Katwe.” The genuine account of Ugandan chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi is followed in the movie. In two “Star Wars” projects, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” (2017) and the animated series “Star Wars Forces of Destiny,” she reprised her role as Maz Kanata (2017-2018).
When Lupita Nyong’o was chosen to play Nakia in the Marvel superhero movie “Black Panther,” she added her name to the long list of A-level celebrities who have roles in the MCU. She learned how to speak Xhosa as part of her preparation for the region and studied judo, jujitsu, silat, and Filipino martial arts.
As a result of her outstanding performance, Nyong’o received a nomination for a Saturn Award for Best Actress. She later appeared in the movies “Us” (2019), “Little Monsters,” and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (2019). She also narrated the Discovery Channel’s “Serengeti” documentary series.
How Is The Personal Life of Lupita Nyong’o?
Lupita Nyong’o speaks Luo, Spanish, and Swahili well, in addition to English. For her charity and advocacy efforts, she is well-known. Among the groups, she collaborates with are Mother Health International, WildAid, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
How Much Money Will Lupita Nyong’o Have In 2022?
Lupita Nyong’o, a Kenyan actress and director of music videos, will be worth $10 million in 2022. Her most notable acting credits are the lead parts in the movies “12 Years a Slave” (2013), “Black Panther” (2018), and “Us” (2019).