Lupita Amondi Nyong’o was born in Mexico City, Mexico but grew up in Kenya (where her parents were from) from the age of one.  Her family later sent her back to Mexico for 7 months to learn Spanish. While attending school in Kenya, she took part in school plays and realized her passion for acting. The family had to eventually leave the country as they had all suffered for being activists fighting against a bad president.

She attended college in Massachusetts and while still a student she worked as an intern on multiple movies.

She graduated in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in film and African studies.

Career

Her ‘Academy Award’-winning performance came shortly after her graduation from Yale University in the ‘12 Years a Slave,’ film. That was the first time a Kenyan actor had ever won an ‘Academy Award.’ She also delivered amazing performances on Broadway in the play ‘Eclipsed,’ which was highly praised by critics. She directed a music video and appeared in box-office movies such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Jungle Book, Black Panther, and the horror movie ‘Us.’ She also fights to raise awareness for issues in Africa, such as serious health issues, poachers, and animal rights.