Lupita Nyong'o
Lupita Nyong'o
Lupita Amondi Nyong'o; born March 1, 1983) is a Mexi-Kenyan actress and filmmaker. She was born in Mexico to Kenyan parents and raised in Kenya. She attended college in the United States, earning a bachelor's degree in film and theater studies from Hampshire College...
NationalityMexican
ProfessionMovie Actress
Date of Birth1 March 1983
CityMexico City, Mexico
CountryMexico
cupboard
I loved make-believe. I was the child in the cupboard playing with my Barbies.
extremely hold joyous knew necessary needed recognized
The set of '12 Years a Slave' was an extremely joyous one! We all recognized that we were making a powerful, necessary and beautiful film, and we weren't about doing it without that sense of responsibility, and we recognized that we needed each other to tell this story. We also knew we needed to hold each other up as we told the story.
among biggest fact individual learn learned lessons special therefore totally
I learned at Yale, one of the biggest lessons was to learn how special I am and therefore how totally unspecial I am. I was special among everyone else who was special. The fact that we're all so individual and that's what makes us special.
life moved
I had moved back to Kenya after undergrad, and I went through this crisis of, 'What is my life going to be about?'
acting decided drama life looking love school
I love filmmaking, but I decided to go to drama school because I thought that when I'm 60 and looking back on my life, if acting hadn't been a part of it, I would hate myself.
I want to be uncomfortable - acting is uncomfortable.
african belong carry experience happened shame swept
Slavery is something that is all too often swept under the carpet. The shame doesn't even belong to us, but we still experience it because we're a part of the African race. If it happened to one, it happened to all. We carry that burden.
believe magical
There is something about acting that's mysterious and magical because there is only so much I can do to prepare, and then I have to just let go and breathe and believe that it will come through.
life
Being a part of '12 Years a Slave' has been one of the most profound experiences of my life.
Every single laundromat, grocery store, everything is called 'Lupita' in Mexico.
held mexican mexico prudent spent time
I spent some time back in Mexico at 16 because my parents thought it would be prudent for me to learn Spanish, because I held a Mexican passport.
appreciate art continued education forward learn loved opportunity
I've loved the opportunity to learn about the fashion world and appreciate it as an art form, and I look forward to my continued education, but I never want it to take over my acting.
admitted asked pivotal ralph
Ralph Fiennes was a pivotal influence on me. He asked me, 'So what is it you want to do?' I very shyly, timidly admitted that I wanted to be an actor. He sighed, and he said, 'Lupita, only be an actor if you feel there is nothing else in the world you want to do - only do it if you feel you cannot live without acting.'
famous grew limelight relationship
I grew up in the limelight and being the child of someone famous. So my relationship with fame is not bedazzled.