Lupita Nyong’o’s biography, education, career, marriage and net worth.
Lupita Nyong’o is a Kenyan actress who has made fortune and name in a video production industry. She is the daughter of Kenya political elites Anyan’g Nyong’o.
Born:
Her full name is Lupita Amondi Nyong’o. She speaks Dholuo fluently, Swahili and English. She was born 1 March 1983).
Achievements:She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, and a Daytime Emmy Award with nominations for a Tony Award and a Golden Globe:
Nationality:
She holds dual citizenship. Mexican and a Kenyan.
Early Life:
Lupita Amondi Nyong’o was born on 1 March 1983 in Mexico City to Kenyan parents, Dorothy Ogada Buyu and Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o, a college professor. K47 digital has gathered that the family had left Kenya in 1980 for a period because of political repression and unrest; Peter’s brother, Charles Nyong’o, disappeared after he was thrown off a ferry in 1980.Lupita Nyong’o holds dual Kenyan and Mexican citizenship and identifies as “Kenyan-Mexican”.
Tribe:
She is of Luo descent on both sides of her family, and is the second of six children. It is a tradition of the Luo people to name a child after the events of the day, so her parents reportedly gave her a Spanish name, Lupita (a diminutive of Guadalupe) according to Wikipedia records.
Her father was once a Minister for Medical Services in the Kenyan government and later became the Governor of the city of Kisumu, Kenya.
At the time of Nyong’o’s birth, he was a visiting lecturer in political science at El Colegio de México in Mexico City.
Her Family Back to Kenya:
The family returned to their native Kenya when Nyong’o was less than one year old, after her father was appointed as a professor at the University of Nairobi. She grew up primarily in Nairobi, in an artistic family, and describes her upbringing as “middle class, suburban.” Family get-togethers often included performances by the children, and trips to see plays. She attended Rusinga International School in Kenya and acted in school plays.
At the age of 14, Nyong’o made her professional acting debut as Juliet in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, in a production by the Nairobi-based repertory company Phoenix Players. While a member of the Phoenix Players, she also performed in the plays On The Razzle and There Goes The Bride. She credits the performances of Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey in The Color Purple with inspiring her to pursue a professional acting career.When Nyong’o was 16, her parents sent her to Mexico for seven months to learn Spanish. During those seven months, she lived in Taxco, Guerrero, and took classes at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México’s Learning Centre for Foreigners. Nyong’o later attended St. Mary’s School in Nairobi, where she received an IB Diploma in 2001 and received the mean grade of 6 out of 7, coming second in her class. She went to the United States for college, graduating from Hampshire College with a degree in film and theatre studies.In 2013, her father was elected to represent Kisumu County in the Kenyan Senate and by 2017, he became Governor. Nyong’o’s mother is the managing director of the Africa Cancer Foundation and her own communications company. Other family members include Tavia Nyong’o, a scholar and professor at New 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; and Isis Nyong’o, a media and technology leader who was named one of Africa’s most powerful young women by Forbes magazine.
Personal Life:
Nyong’o lives in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. She is a fluent speaker of English, Spanish, Luo, and Swahili. On 27 February 2014, at the Essence Black Women in Hollywood luncheon in Beverly Hills, she delivered a speech on the beauty of Black women and opened up about the insecurities she had as a teenager. She said her views changed when she saw South Sudanese model Alek Wek become successful.In 2014, the National Trust for Historic Preservation recruited Nyong’o in an effort to oppose development, including a new minor league baseball stadium, in the Shockoe Bottom area of Richmond, Virginia. The historic neighbourhood, one of Richmond’s oldest, was the site of major slave-trading before the American Civil War. On 19 October 2014, Nyong’o sent a letter to Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones, which she posted on social media, asking him to withdraw support for the development proposal. She later lent her voice in Conservation International’s Nature Is Speaking campaign as the flower.
In June 2015, Nyong’o returned to Kenya and announced that she would advocate globally for elephants with the international conservation organisation WildAid, as well as promote women’s issues, acting and the arts in Kenya. WildAid announced Nyong’o as their Global Elephant Ambassador.
Nyong’o is involved with the organisation Mother Health International, which aims to provide relief to women and children in Uganda by creating locally engaged birthing 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 bringing attention to such issues is a mandate for her as an artist. Variety honoured her for her work in 2016.
In April 2016, Nyong’o launched an anti-poaching “hearts and minds” campaign with her organisation Wildaid in advance of Kenya Wildlife Service’s history-making ivory burn that occurred 30 April. The Kenyan government burned 105 tonnes of ivory and 1.35 tonnes of rhino horn in a demonstration of their zero tolerance approach to poachers and smugglers who were threatening the survival of elephants and rhinoceros in the wild.In October 2017—in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse scandal and the MeToo movement—Nyong’o wrote an op-ed for The 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 in Southpaw (2015), a Weinstein-distributed film. She further wrote about her commitment to work with female directors, as well as male feminist directors who have not abused their power. Nyong’o’s op-ed was part of a collection of stories by The New York Times and The New Yorker that won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.
Nyong’o made her writing debut with a book titled Sulwe (2019), which is 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 on her own childhood experiences. The book became a number-one New York Times Best-Seller. Sulwe was selected for the 2020 Illustrator Honor at the Coretta Scott King Awards and won for Outstanding Literary Work – Children at the 2020 NAACP Image Awards.
In September 2019, Nyong’o became an ambassador for Michael Kors’ “Watch Hunger Stop” campaign. In October, Nyong’o and her mother were honoured at The 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.
In 2020, The Africa Center announced Nyong’o as a member of its board of trustees.
Media debut:
Nyong’o was mentioned in Christian rapper Lecrae’s song “Nuthin'” from his 2014 album Anomaly and was referenced by Jay-Z in his verse from Jay Electronica’s song “We Made It”. She was also mentioned in the parody song “American Apparel Ad Girls” by the drag queens Willam Belli, Courtney Act and Alaska Thunderfuck. Nyong’o was mentioned in the 2015 song “Nerea” by Kenyan afro-pop band Sauti Sol. Rapper Nicki Minaj mentioned Lupita in her verse on A$AP Ferg’s remix of “Plain Jane” and was referenced by rapper Wale in his song “Black Is Gold”. Singer Beyoncé mentioned Nyong’o in the single “Brown Skin Girl” from The Lion King: The Gift (2019).
Nyong’o was included in Derek Blasberg’s 2013 best-dressed list in Harper’s Bazaar. In 2014, she was chosen as one of the faces for Miu Miu’s spring campaign, with Elizabeth Olsen, Elle Fanning and Bella Heathcote. She has also appeared on the covers of several magazines, including New York’s spring fashion issue and the UK magazine Dazed & Confused. In April of that year, she was named “The Most Beautiful Woman” by People and was named the new face of Lancôme, making her the first black woman to appear on the brand. Later that November, she was named “Woman of the Year” by Glamour.Nyong’o was on the July 2014 cover of Vogue, making her the second African woman and ninth black woman to cover the magazine. That same month she also appeared on the cover of July’s issue of Elle (France). She appeared on the October 2015 issue of Vogue, making it her second cover in a row. That month, Congressman Charles Rangel and Voza Rivers, the head of the New Heritage Theatre Group, announced the day is officially “Lupita Nyong’o Day” in Harlem, New York. The honour was announced as a surprise during an open discussion between Nyong’o and image activist Michaela Angela Davis at Mist Harlem.Nyong’o was included in Annie Leibovitz’s 2016 Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue. Nyong’o was honoured with a caricature portrait in May 2016 at Sardi’s restaurant in New York City for her debut on Broadway. That July, she was chosen as one of the first celebrities, along with Elle Fanning, Christy Turlington Burns, and Natalie Westling, to star in Tiffany & Co.’s Fall 2016 campaign styled by Grace Coddington. Nyong’o appeared on Vogue′s October 2016 cover, making it her third issue. That month, she was an honouree at the 2016 Elle Women in Hollywood Awards.
In January 2017, she appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue. She later appeared on the cover of UK’s The Sunday Times Magazine for their October 2017 issue. In November 2017, she appeared on the cover of Grazia UK magazine. She later expressed her disappointment with the cover on social media for altering her hair to fit European standards of what hair should look like. Photographer An Le later apologised in a statement, saying it was “an incredibly monumental mistake”. 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 In December 2017, Nyong’o landed her fourth Vogue cover in a row for the January 2018 issue, making her the first black actress to do so. She was also included in Tim Walker’s 2018 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – themed Pirelli Calendar as character The Dormouse.
In June 2018, The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced Nyong’o will be among the honourees to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the film category. The following month, Nyong’o starred with fellow actress Saoirse Ronan for a Calvin 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 named Eartha Kitt and Katharine Hepburn as her inspirations. In October 2018, Nyong’o became a two-time honouree, alongside her Black Panther co-stars Danai Gurira and Angela Bassett for Elle magazine’s “Women in Hollywood” issue. Nyong’o appeared on the cover of Vogue España’s November 2018 edition. Nyong’o is a 2019 Hollywood Walk of Fame honouree.Nyong’o appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair’s October 2019 issue. In November, she made her music debut with her single “Sulwe’s Song”, which she wrote for her book Sulwe. She was also featured on singer Ciara’s song “Melanin” under the moniker, “Troublemaker” along with La La Anthony, City Girls, and Ester Dean. “Melanin” was nominated for the Her Award at the 2020 BET Awards. Nyong’o was cited as one of 2019’s Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine.
Nyong’o made her first appearance on British Vogue’s February 2020 cover. In March 2020, she appeared on Africa’s “50 Most Powerful Women” list by Forbes.
Marriage:
She isn’t married yet but she had a boyfriend whom the broke up with as reported by by BBC.
“Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o spoke about her breakup on Instagram, saying that she’d suffered “heartbreak” and “deception,” without naming anyone. She had been dating TV host Selema Masekela. Fans have rallied behind her with messages of support.” A statement by BBC news read.
