Contents
Lupita Nyong'o
Playing Patsey in 12 Years a Slave and Nakia in Black Panther.
12 Years a Slave · Black Panther
- Born
- 1 March 1983
- Birthplace
- Mexico City, Mexico
More people
Lupita Nyong'o
Lupita Nyong’o is a Kenyan-Mexican actor whose work spans historical drama, horror and major franchises. Her international breakthrough followed professional training in the United States.
Early life
Kenyan upbringing
Born to Kenyan parents in Mexico and raised mainly in Kenya.
Film and acting studies
Studied film and theatre at Hampshire College before earning an MFA at Yale.
Career
- 2000s
Behind and in front of the camera
Worked on productions and made the documentary In My Genes.
- 2013–2014
Feature breakthrough
Her performance in 12 Years a Slave won the supporting-actress Oscar.
- 2010s–2020s
Range of roles
Moved between stage work, voice performance, horror and franchise films.
Selected work
12 Years a Slave
Patsey, an enslaved woman subjected to severe abuse.
Black Panther
Nakia, a Wakandan spy with an international outlook.
Us
Contrasting performances at the centre of Jordan Peele’s horror film.
Beyond work
Children’s writing
Published Sulwe, a picture book about skin colour and self-worth.
Conservation
Has supported elephant conservation with WildAid.
Sources & photo credit
Life and career ↗Institutional or specialist reference ↗Photo: PhilipRomano. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
