Lupita Nyong'o: Education, Academic Achievements, and Rise to Stardom

Introduction

Lupita Nyong'o, a celebrated actress and author, has captivated audiences worldwide with her talent and grace. Her journey, marked by academic excellence and a commitment to social causes, has solidified her position as a prominent figure in the entertainment industry and beyond. This article explores Nyong'o's educational background, academic achievements, and the significant milestones that have shaped her career.

Early Life and Education

Lupita Amondi Nyong'o was born on March 1, 1983, in Mexico City, where her father, Anyang' Nyong'o, was teaching. Her parents, Dorothy Ogada Buyu and Anyang' Nyong'o, are both Kenyan. She was raised in Kenya from the age of three. 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.

Higher Education in the United States

Nyong'o attended college in the United States, earning a bachelor's degree in film and theatre studies from Hampshire College. Her passion for the arts led her to pursue further education at the Yale School of Drama, where she enrolled in a master's degree program in acting.

Yale School of Drama

At Yale, Nyong'o honed her acting skills and appeared in numerous stage productions. Her performances included roles in Gertrude Stein's "Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights," Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya," and William Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" and "The Winter's Tale." These experiences provided her with a solid foundation in classical and contemporary theater, preparing her for a successful career in acting.

Early Career in Hollywood and Kenya

After completing her undergraduate studies, Nyong'o began her career in Hollywood as a production assistant. In 2008, she made her acting debut with the short film "East River." Subsequently, she returned to Kenya to star in the television series "Shuga" (2009-2012), which addressed social issues and gained her recognition in her home country.

Breakthrough Role in "12 Years a Slave"

Immediately after graduating from Yale, Nyong'o landed her breakthrough role in Steve McQueen's historical drama "12 Years a Slave" (2013). The film is based on the life of Solomon Northup (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free-born African-American man of upstate New York who is kidnapped and sold into slavery in Washington, DC, in 1841. Nyong'o portrayed Patsey, a slave who works alongside Northup at a Louisiana cotton plantation.

Her performance garnered rave reviews, with critics praising her portrayal of Patsey's grit and radiant grace. Empire reviewer Ian Freer wrote that she "gives one of the most committed big-screen debuts imaginable," and Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called her "a spectacular young actress who imbues Patsey with grit and radiant grace".

Awards and Recognition for "12 Years a Slave"

Nyong'o received numerous awards and nominations for her role in "12 Years a Slave." She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress, a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, including Best Supporting Actress, which she won.

Her most significant achievement was winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, making her the sixth black actress to win the award. She is the second African actress to win the award, the first Kenyan actress to win an Oscar, and the first Mexican to win the award. She is also the fifteenth actress to win an Oscar for a film debut performance. The blue 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.

Post-Oscar Career Choices

In 2025, Nyong'o reflected on the impact of "12 Years a Slave" 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…"

Nyong'o's first casting post-Oscar was for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (2015) as Force-sensitive space pirate Maz Kanata, a CGI character created using motion capture technology. 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. Scott Mendelson of Forbes described Nyong'o's role as "the center of the film's best sequence," and Stephanie Zacharek of Time magazine called her a "delightful minor character". She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 42nd Saturn Awards and Best Virtual Performance at the 2016 MTV Movie Awards for her role.

Return to the Stage: "Eclipsed"

In 2015, Nyong'o returned to the stage with a starring role as an unnamed girl in the play "Eclipsed," written by Danai Gurira. The play takes place during the chaos of the Second 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). Nyong'o made her Broadway debut in "Eclipsed," for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.

Roles in "The Jungle Book" and "Queen of Katwe"

Nyong'o co-starred in Jon Favreau's "The Jungle Book" (2016), a live-action/CGI adaptation of its 1967 animated original, voicing Raksha, a mother wolf who adopts Mowgli (played by Neel Sethi). Robbie Collin of The Telegraph wrote in his review that Nyong'o brought a "gentle dignity" to her role.

She later co-starred in Mira Nair's "Queen of Katwe" (2016), a biopic based on the true story about the rise of a young Ugandan chess prodigy, Phiona Mutesi (played by Madina Nalwanga), who becomes a Woman Candidate Master after her performances at World Chess Olympiads. Nyong'o played Phiona's protective mother, Nakku Harriet. Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com said, "Nyong'o is phenomenal."

Further Film Roles: "Black Panther," "Little Monsters," and "Us"

Following the success of "Black Panther," Nyong'o starred as a kindergarten teacher dealing with a zombie apocalypse in the comedy horror film "Little Monsters" (2019). Amy Nicholson of Variety wrote that Nyong'o's "deadpan humor and grace ennoble the slapstick".

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The 2019 South by Southwest marked the premiere of her next release, Jordan Peele's psychological horror film "Us." It tells the story of a family who are confronted by their doppelgängers. Emily Yoshida of Vulture 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." "Us" grossed over $255 million worldwide against its $20 million budget. At Universal Studios Hollywood's Halloween Horror Nights, Nyong'o attended a maze inspired by the film and appeared inside the attraction dressed as her character Red. Nyong'o earned a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role and won an NAACP Image Award for Best Actress for "Us".

Voice Work and Television

Also in 2019, Nyong'o narrated the Discovery Channel documentary series "Serengeti," about wildlife in the Serengeti ecosystem. Nyong'o spoke on the lack of African women narrating nature documentaries and how the Serengeti team encouraged her to use her native Kenyan accent on the series. She also received nominations for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Narrator for narrating two episodes of the docu-series "Serengeti."

Nyong'o partnered with Nairobi-based media and tech startup Kukua in support of YouTube 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. Afterwards, she starred alongside Juan Castano in Saheem Ali's bilingual radio play adaptation of Romeo & Juliet, titled "Romeo y Julieta" (2021). She also provided narration for Apple TV+'s documentary, "Who Are You, Charlie Brown?" (2021), based on the origins of Peanuts and its creator Charles M.

Advocacy and Writing

Aside from acting, Nyong'o supports historic preservation. She is vocal about preventing sexual harassment, working for women's and animal rights. In February 2014, at the Essence 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. In October 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. 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. As of 2016, Nyong'o was 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 that bringing attention to such issues is a mandate for her as an artist. 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". Nyong'o expressed solidarity with the people of the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war.

In 2019, Nyong'o wrote a children's book titled "Sulwe," which became a number-one New York Times Best-Seller. Nyong'o made her writing debut with a book titled "Sulwe" (2019), published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Recognition and Accolades

In 2014, Nyong'o was named the most beautiful woman by People. 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". 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.

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. 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. 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. In June 2018, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced that Nyong'o would 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". 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.

Advocacy and Activism

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. Nyong'o had a lifelong fear of cats, but underwent exposure therapy for the 2024 film A Quiet Place: Day One in order to work with her cat co-stars.

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