The daughter of Kenyan politicianAnyang' Nyong'o, she was born inMexico City, where her father was teaching, and was raised inKenya from the age of three.[2] She attended college in the United States, earning a bachelor's degree in film and theatre studies fromHampshire College. She later began her career in Hollywood as a production assistant. In 2008, she made her acting debut with the short filmEast River and subsequently returned to Kenya to star in the television seriesShuga (2009–2012). She then pursued a master's degree in acting from theYale School of Drama.[3] Soon after her graduation, she had her first feature film role asPatsey inSteve McQueen's biopic12 Years a Slave (2013), for which she received critical acclaim and won theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Aside from acting, Nyong'o supportshistoric preservation. She is vocal about preventing sexual harassment, working for women's and animal rights. In 2014, she was named themost beautiful woman byPeople. In 2019, Nyong'o wrote a children's book namedSulwe, which became a number-oneNew York Times Best-Seller. She also received nominations forPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Narrator for narrating two episodes of the docu-seriesSerengeti. In 2020, Nyong'o was named one of Africa's 50 Most Powerful Women byForbes.
Early life and education
Lupita Amondi Nyong'o[4] was born on 1 March 1983[5] inMexico City[6][7][8] to Kenyan parents,Dorothy Ogada Buyu[9][10] andAnyang' Nyong'o, a college professor. The family had leftKenya in 1980 for a period because of political repression and unrest; Lupita's uncle, Charles Nyong'o, disappeared after he was thrown off a ferry in 1980.[11]
Nyong'o holds Kenyan, Mexican, and United States citizenship and identifies as "Kenyan-Mexican".[12][13] She is ofLuo descent on both sides of her family, and is the second of six children.[14] It is a tradition of the Luo people to name a child after the events of the day, so her parents gave her a Spanish name, Lupita (adiminutive ofGuadalupe).[15] Her father, a former Member of theKenyan Parliament and pastMinister for Medical Services, serves as the Governor ofKisumu County, Kenya as of November 2025.[16] At the time of Nyong'o's birth, he was a visiting lecturer in political science atEl Colegio de México in Mexico City.[14][17]
The family returned to Kenya when Nyong'o was under a year old,[15][18] after her father was appointed as a professor at theUniversity of Nairobi.[14] She grew up primarily inNairobi, in an artistic family, and describes her upbringing as "middle class, suburban."[17] Family get-togethers often included performances by the children, and trips to see plays.[19] She attended Rusinga International School in Kenya and acted in school plays.[9]
When Nyong'o was 16, her parents sent her to Mexico for seven months to learn Spanish.[15][23] During those seven months, she lived inTaxco,Guerrero, and took classes at theUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de México's Learning Centre for Foreigners.[23] Nyong'o later attendedSt. Mary's School in Nairobi, where she received anIB Diploma in 2001 and received the mean grade of 6 out of 7, coming second in her class.[24] She went to the United States for college, graduating fromHampshire College with a degree in film and theatre studies.[25][26]
In 2013, her father was elected to representKisumu County in theKenyan Senate and by 2017, he became Governor.[15][27] Nyong'o's mother is the managing director of the Africa Cancer Foundation and her own communications company.[19][20] Other family members includeTavia Nyong'o, a scholar and professor atNew York University; Omondi Nyong'o, a paediatric ophthalmologist in Palo Alto, California, US; Kwame Nyong'o, one of Kenya's leading animators and leading technology expert; andIsis Nyong'o, a media and technology leader who was named one of Africa's most powerful young women byForbes magazine.[28][29]
Career
2005–2012: Early work
Nyong'o began her career working as part of the production crew for several films, includingFernando Meirelles'sThe Constant Gardener (2005),Mira Nair'sThe Namesake (2006), andSalvatore Stabile'sWhere God Left His Shoes (2007).[30] She citesRalph Fiennes, the British star ofThe Constant Gardener, as someone who inspired her to pursue a professional acting career.[17] In 2008, Nyong'o starred in the short filmEast River, directed by Marc Grey and shot inBrooklyn.[31] She returned to Kenya that same year and appeared in the Kenyan television seriesShuga, anMTV Base Africa/UNICEF drama aboutHIV/AIDS prevention.[30] In 2009, she wrote, directed, and produced the documentaryIn My Genes, about the discriminatory treatment of Kenya'salbino population.[14] It played at several film festivals and won first prize at the 2008 Five College Film Festival.[30] Nyong'o also directed the music video "The Little Things You Do" byWahu, featuringBobi Wine,[30] which was nominated for the Best Video Award at theMTV Africa Music Awards 2009.[30]
Immediately after graduating from Yale, Nyong'o landed her breakthrough role[32] when she was cast inSteve McQueen's historical drama12 Years a Slave (2013).[17][19] The film, which met with widespread critical acclaim, is based on the life ofSolomon Northup (played byChiwetel Ejiofor), a free-bornAfrican-American man of upstate New York who is kidnapped and sold into slavery in Washington, DC, in 1841. Nyong'o portrayedPatsey, a slave who works alongside Northup at a Louisiana cotton plantation; her performance garnered rave reviews.[33]Empire reviewerIan Freer wrote that she "gives one of the most committed big-screen debuts imaginable," andPeter Travers ofRolling Stone called her "a spectacular young actress who imbues Patsey with grit and radiant grace".[34][35] She was nominated for several awards for12 Years a Slave, including aGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress, aBAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and twoScreen Actors Guild Awards, includingBest Supporting Actress, which she won.[36] She also won theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the sixth black actress to win the award.[37] Theblue Prada dress she wore to the awards garnered substantial media attention and acclaim, being considered one of the classic red carpet gowns in Hollywood history.[38][39] She is the second African actress to win the award,[37] the first Kenyan actress to win an Oscar, and the first Mexican to win the award.[40][41] She is also the fifteenth actress to win an Oscar for a film debut performance.[42] In 2025, Nyongo said of the affect the film had on her career: "It really did set the paces for everything I’ve done since. But, you know, what’s interesting is that after I won that Academy Award you’d think, ‘Oh, I’m gonna get lead roles here and there.’ [Instead, it was], ‘Oh, Lupita, we’d like you to play another movie where you’re a slave, but this time you’re on a slave ship.’ Those are the kind of offers I was getting in the months after winning my Academy Award... I like to be a joyful warrior for changing the paradigms of what it means to be African and if that means that I work one job less a year to ensure that I’m not perpetuating the stereotypes that are expected of people from my continent, then let me do that."[43]
Nyong'o first casting post-Oscar was forStar Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) asForce-sensitivespace pirateMaz Kanata, aCGI character created usingmotion capture technology.[44][45] She had wanted to play a role where her appearance was not relevant, and the acting provided a different challenge from her role as Patsey.[46]Scott Mendelson ofForbes described Nyong'o's role as "the center of the film's best sequence," andStephanie Zacharek ofTime magazine called her a "delightful minor character".[47][48] She was nominated forBest Supporting Actress at the42nd Saturn Awards and Best Virtual Performance at the2016 MTV Movie Awards for her role.[49][50] Also in 2015, Nyong'o returned to the stage with a starring role as an unnamed girl in the playEclipsed, written byDanai Gurira.[51] The play takes place during the chaos of theSecond Liberian Civil War, where the captive wives of a rebel officer band together to form a community, until the balance of their lives are upset by the arrival of a new girl (played by Nyong'o).Eclipsed becamethe Public Theater's fastest-selling new production in recent history[52] and won Nyong'o anObie Award for Outstanding Performance.[53] The play premiered onBroadway at theJohn Golden Theatre the following year.[54] It was the first play to premiere on Broadway with an all-black and female creative cast and crew.[55][56] Nyong'o had understudied the play at Yale in 2009 and was terrified to play the character onstage.[57] She turned down film roles in favour of the production.[58] Her performance garnered critical acclaim;Charles Isherwood ofThe New York Times hailed Nyong'o as "one of the most radiant young actors to be seen on Broadway in recent seasons," and added that she "shines with a compassion that makes us see beyond the suffering to the indomitable humanity of its characters."[59] Her performance inEclipsed earned her aTheatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance and a nomination for theTony Award for Best Actress in a Play.[60] In addition, she was nominated for Outstanding Actress in a Play at theOuter Critics Circle Award and a Distinguished Performance Award at theDrama League Award.[61][62][63][64]
Nyong'o co-starred inJon Favreau'sThe Jungle Book (2016), a live-action/CGI adaptation of its1967 animated original, voicingRaksha, a mother wolf who adoptsMowgli (played by Neel Sethi).[65]Robbie Collin ofThe Telegraph wrote in his review that Nyong'o brought a "gentle dignity" to her role.[66] She later co-starred inMira Nair'sQueen of Katwe (2016), a biopic based on the true story about the rise of a young Ugandan chess prodigy,[67]Phiona Mutesi (played byMadina Nalwanga), who becomes aWoman Candidate Master after her performances at WorldChess Olympiads. Nyong'o played Phiona's protective mother, Nakku Harriet.[68] Brian Tallerico ofRogerEbert.com said, "Nyong'o is phenomenal. She has an incredible ability to convey backstory."[69] Geoff Berkshire ofVariety wrote, "Simply radiant in her first live action role since winning an Oscar for12 Years a Slave [...] [Nyong'o] imbues what could have been a stock mother figure with such inner fire that Harriet feels worthy of a movie all her own."[70]
Following the success ofBlack Panther, Nyong'o starred as a kindergarten teacher dealing with azombie apocalypse in the comedy horror filmLittle Monsters (2019). Amy Nicholson ofVariety wrote that Nyong'o's "deadpan humor and grace ennoble the slapstick".[77] The 2019South by Southwest marked the premiere of her next release,Jordan Peele's psychological horror filmUs. It tells the story of a family who are confronted by theirdoppelgängers.[78][79]Emily Yoshida ofVulture labelled Nyong'o's dual role "astounding" and found her performance as the doppelgänger "an achievement on another level; a physical, vocal, and emotional performance so surgical in its uncanniness that it almost feels like it could not be the work of a flesh-and-blood human."[80]Us grossed over $255 million worldwide against its $20 million budget.[81] AtUniversal Studios Hollywood'sHalloween Horror Nights, Nyong'o attended a maze inspired by the film and appeared inside the attraction dressed as her character Red.[82] Nyong'o earned a Screen Actors Guild nomination forOutstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role and won anNAACP Image Award forBest Actress.[83] Also in 2019, Nyong'o narrated theDiscovery Channel documentary seriesSerengeti, about wildlife in theSerengeti ecosystem.[84][85] Nyong'o spoke on the lack of African women narrating nature documentaries and how theSerengeti team encouraged her to use her native Kenyan accent on the series. She earned her firstEmmy Award nomination for her narration as anOutstanding Narrator at the72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, making her the third black woman to be nominated in the category.[86][87] She was also nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Character Voice-Over Performance.[83] She hosted theChannel 4 documentaryWarrior Women with Lupita Nyong'o, in which she undertook a journey acrossBenin, West Africa, to search for theDahomey Amazons.[88] She chose to dropout ofThe Woman King (2022), in which she had previously been cast to co-star in, around the time of filming this documentary.[89]
Nyong'o partnered with Nairobi-based media and tech startup Kukua in support ofYouTube Originals'STEM-themed,Super Sema (2021), which became Africa's first kid superhero animated series.Super Sema follows the adventures of an extraordinary young African girl, Sema, who lives in the neo-African-futuristic community of Dunia. Nyong'o serves as an executive producer and voice actress in the series.[93] Afterwards, she starred alongside Juan Castano inSaheem Ali's bilingual radio play adaptation ofRomeo & Juliet, titledRomeo y Julieta (2021).[94] She also provided narration forApple TV+'s documentary, Who Are You, Charlie Brown? (2021), based on the origins ofPeanuts and its creatorCharles M. Schulz.[95] Nyong'o won theOutstanding Limited Performance in a Children's Program category at the48th Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for her involvement inNetflix's television series,Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices (2020).[96][97] In 2021, Nyong'o reprised her narration role inSerengeti (2019),[98] where she earned her second Primetime Emmy Award nomination.[99]
In 2024, Nyong'o played the lead role in the horror prequel filmA Quiet Place: Day One.[103] She also took on a voice role in the animated filmThe Wild Robot, in which she voiced the lead role of an abandoned robot named Roz.[104] Also in 2024, Nyong'o began hosting the podcastMind Your Own, in which she tells stories from the African diaspora and talks about experiences relating to her own life and Kenyan heritage.[105]
In February 2014, at theEssence Black Women in Hollywood luncheon in Beverly Hills, she delivered a speech on the beauty of Black women, and told the audience about the insecurities she had as a teenager. She said her views changed when she saw South Sudanese modelAlek Wek become successful.[107]
In June 2015, Nyong'o returned to Kenya and announced that she would advocate globally for elephants with the international conservation organisationWildAid, as well as promote women's issues, acting and the arts in Kenya. WildAid announced Nyong'o as their Global Elephant Ambassador.[111]
As of 2016, Nyong'o was involved with the organisation Mother Health International, which aims to provide relief to women and children inUganda by creating locally engagedbirthing centres. She said she had never thought much about birthing practices until her sister introduced her to MHI executive director Rachel Zaslow. Nyong'o felt that bringing attention to such issues is a mandate for her as an artist.Variety honoured her for her work in April 2016.[112]
In September 2019, Nyong'o became an ambassador forMichael Kors' "Watch Hunger Stop" campaign.[115] In October, Nyong'o and her mother were honoured atThe Harlem School of the Arts' Mask Ball with a "Visionary Lineage Award". Then, she was honoured at WildAid to receive the "Champion of the Year" award in November.[116][117]
Nyong'o was on the July 2014 cover ofVogue, making her the second African woman[132] and ninth black woman[133] to cover the magazine. That same month she also appeared on the cover of July's issue ofElle (France). She appeared on the October 2015 issue ofVogue, making it her second cover in a row.[134] That month, CongressmanCharles Rangel andVoza Rivers, the head of theNew Heritage Theatre Group, announced the day is officially "Lupita Nyong'o Day" inHarlem, New York. The honour was announced as a surprise during an open discussion between Nyong'o and image activistMichaela Angela Davis at Mist Harlem.[135]
Nyong'o was included inAnnie Leibovitz's 2016Vanity Fair's Hollywood Issue.[136] Nyong'o was honoured with a caricature portrait in May 2016 atSardi's restaurant in New York City for her debut on Broadway.[137] That July, she was chosen as one of the first celebrities, along withElle Fanning,Christy Turlington Burns, andNatalie Westling, to star inTiffany & Co.'s Fall 2016 campaign styled byGrace Coddington.[138] Nyong'o appeared onVogue′s October 2016 cover, making it her third issue. That month, she was an honouree at the 2016 Elle Women in Hollywood Awards.[139]
In January 2017, she appeared on the cover ofVanity Fair's Hollywood Issue.[140] She later appeared on the cover of UK'sThe Sunday Times Magazine for their October 2017 issue.[141] In November 2017, she appeared on the cover ofGrazia UK magazine. She later expressed her disappointment with the cover on social media for altering her hair to fitEuropean standards of what hair should look like. Photographer An Le later apologised in a statement, saying it was "an incredibly monumental mistake".[142] Nyong'o often speaks out about embracing her "African kinky hair" and collaborates with hairdresser Vernon François to show how versatile her hair texture is.[143]
In June 2018, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced that Nyong'o would be among the honourees to receive a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame in the film category.[146] The following month, Nyong'o starred with fellow actressSaoirse Ronan for aCalvin Klein campaign for their new fragrance entitled "Calvin Klein Women". The campaign features both striking, minimalist portraits of the award-winning actresses alongside women they have personally been inspired by, where Nyong'o namedEartha Kitt andKatharine Hepburn as her inspirations.[147] In October 2018, Nyong'o became a two-time honouree, alongside herBlack Panther co-starsDanai Gurira andAngela Bassett forElle magazine's "Women in Hollywood" issue.[148] Nyong'o appeared on the cover ofVogue España's November 2018 edition.[149] Nyong'o is a 2019Hollywood Walk of Fame honouree.[150]
Nyong'o appeared on the cover ofVanity Fair's October 2019 issue.[151] In November, she made her music debut with her single "Sulwe's Song", which she wrote for her bookSulwe. She was also featured on singerCiara's song "Melanin" under the moniker, "Troublemaker" along withLa La Anthony,City Girls, andEster Dean.[152] "Melanin" was nominated for theHer Award at the 2020BET Awards.[153] Nyong'o was cited as one of 2019's Top 100 most influential Africans byNew African magazine.[154]
Nyong'o made her first appearance onBritishVogue's February 2020 cover.[155] In March 2020, she appeared on Africa's "50 Most Powerful Women" list byForbes.[156]
In October 2017—in the wake of theHarvey Weinsteinsexual abuse scandal and theMeToo movement—Nyong'o wrote an op-ed forThe New York Times divulging that Weinstein had sexually harassed her on two separate occasions in 2011, when she was a student at Yale. She had vowed never to work with him thereafter, hence turning down an offer to star inSouthpaw (2015), a Weinstein-distributed film. She further wrote about her commitment to work with female directors, as well as malefeminist directors who have not abused their power.[159] Nyong'o's op-ed was part of a collection of stories byThe New York Times andThe New Yorker that won the 2018Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.[160] At theTribeca Film Festival inNew York City in April 2018, she joinedJulianne Moore and other actress in participating in aTime's Up event.[161]
Nyong'o had a lifelongfear of cats, but underwentexposure therapy for the 2024 filmA Quiet Place: Day One in order to work with her cat co-stars. By the end of the film's development she had come to enjoy cats so much that she adopted her own pet cat, named Yoyo.[162]
She expressed solidarity with the people of theGaza Strip during theGaza war. Nyong'o, as part of a group calledArtists4Ceasefire, signed a letter urgingUnited States PresidentJoe Biden and Congress to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.[163] In August 2024, Lupita announced via the press that she had recently become a U.S. citizen and planned on voting forKamala Harris in her first U.S. presidential election.[164]
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