Lupita Nyong’o. PHOTO/DREAMSTIME
SHOWBIZ WRITER
newsdesk@reporter.co.ke
Kenya’s Oscar award winner Lupita Nyong’o has been recognized as among 100 most influential African women
The Kenyan actress was recognized by the arts and culture magazine, OkayAfrica. In honor of Women’s History Month, OkayAfrica released a list recognizing the most influential African women on the continent and in the Diaspora.
The list recognizes women who are blazing a trail in their respective fields.
“We proudly present 100 dope women who hail from the continent and the Diaspora—an amazing collective of visionaries, champions, pioneers and innovators,” said Antoinette Isama, OkayAfrica Associate Editor.
“These brilliant women,” she said. “Are positively impacting our lives and the lives of others across Africa and around the world.”
Among those recognized are eminent figures like; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Luvvie Ajayi, Issa Rae and Lupita.
Lupita Nyong’o is an international filmmaker and actress known for her Academy Award-winning role as Patsey in Steve McQueen’s ’12 Years a Slave.’
Lupita Nyong’o started acting as a teen in Kenya and went on to work behind the scenes of the film The Constant Gardener. She directed and produced the albinism documentary In My Genes and starred in the TV series Shuga.
Nyong’o went on to earn acclaim for her role as Patsey in 12 Years a Slave (2013), for which she won the 2014 Academy Award for best supporting actress, among other honors. She has since gone on to co-star in the films Non-Stop and Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens as well as the Off-Broadway play Eclipsed.
Lupita Nyong’o was born in 1983 in Mexico City, Mexico. Her parents, Dorothy and Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o, were in political exile at the time of her birth, but were able to return to their homeland of Kenya during their daughter’s childhood.
Her father later became part of the country’s senate while her mother, who worked in family planning, took a leadership position with the Africa Cancer Foundation.
Having taken to drama and obtaining the lead role in a production of Romeo and Juliet, Nyong’o also returned to Mexico during her teens to learn Spanish. She went to college in the United States, studying at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, and earning her degree in film in 2003.
Upon her return to Kenya during school summer vacation, Nyong’o discovered that filming for the drama The Constant Gardener was happening in her area. She joined the set as a production assistant and met Ralph Fiennes, who told her to become an actor only if it was something she couldn’t imagine doing without.
Nyong’o played the role of Patsey, an enslaved young woman who befriends Northup while being horrifically abused by plantation master Edwin Epps and his wife, portrayed by Michael Fassbender and Sarah Paulson. For her performance in the film, Nyong’o won the 2014 Academy Award for best supporting actress.
Nyong’o has received an array of accolades for her 12 Years role, receiving a Golden Globe nomination and winning New Hollywood, Critics’ Choice and Screen Actors Guild awards.
In addition, she has become a majestic fashion icon, with red-carpet appearances and pics in publications like InStyle and W. She has also twice graced the cover of Vogue in a short span of time, appearing on the publication’s July 2014 and October 2015 issues.
Nyong’o starred opposite Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore in 2014’s Non-Stop, a thriller about an air marshal confronted by a deadly ransom threat. In June 2014, Disney’s Lucasfilm announced that the Oscar winner was joining the cast of Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, with the film having a December 2015 release.
On her Instagram account, Nyong’o posted, “I can finally say it out loud and proud: I’m going to a galaxy far far away!” The actress portrays CGI space pirate Maz Kanata in what has become the biggest domestic box office outing of all time.
Nyong’o also prepared for her New York stage debut in autumn 2015 with the Public Theater’s Off-Broadway production of Eclipsed, a drama about the struggles of several Liberian women during civil war. Eclipsed made its way to Broadway the following year in February, and both the play and Nyong’o herself soon earned Tony nominations.
