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
born mexico returned school teaching third year
I was born in Mexico because my father was teaching at a school in Mexico City. I was born during the third year he was there. And when I was 16, I returned to Mexico to learn Spanish.
brad people trying
I'm still trying to get over the fact that my name is being mentioned with people like Brad Pitt.
gave mexican named
My parents gave me a Mexican name. In our culture, we are named after the events of the day.
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.
defining describing grew majority people
I grew up in a world where the majority of people were black, so that wasn't the defining quality of anyone. When you're describing someone, you don't start out with 'he's black, he's white.'
craft envisioned love
I always envisioned working in film and in theater. Theater and film are not, they're not in any way substitutable. What I love about theater is so different from what I love about film, and I enjoy the craft of both.
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.
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.
high production shakespeare
My father used to act in high school. He was in a production of 'Othello;' I don't know who he played, but it wasn't Othello. He would talk about it, though, and read Shakespeare to me.
best feeling felt grad instrument reasons school tools yale
One of the reasons why I went to the Yale School of Drama is because I felt that I was acting off of instinct, but sometimes that is not reliable. When you're not feeling it, what do you do? So, going to grad school was about getting the tools to just use my instrument to the best of my ability.
looked people raised saw time watched
I was raised in Kenya, and I always wanted to be an actor from when I was really, really little, but the first time I thought it was something that I could make a career of was when I watched 'The Color Purple.' I think I was nine, maybe, and I saw people that looked like me - Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah.
conscious life
My conscious life has all been in Kenya, and it's my point of reference. But going back to Mexico was very formative.
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.