Thursday morning January 16th the 85th Academy Award Nominees were revealed. Hollywood newcomer Lupita Nyong’o was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her breathtaking performance in 2013′s 12 Years a Slave. In 2014 Lupita has established herself as an accomplished actress with the role that has given her a number of award nominations and critical acclaimed. The newcomer is also fashioning herself as a fashionista. Lupita snagged the headlines and was named by countless editorials and fashion critics as best dress at the Golden Globes. She slayed the red carpet in a red gown by Ralph Lauren. It’s almost hard to believe that just 4 years ago she began her career with a small role in a short film entitled East River.
Lupita’s life began in Mexico. Her parents were political refugees. Of her 5 siblings, Lupita was the second born and the first born in Mexico. Her ethnicity and heritage lies in Kenya but she was given a Mexican name. Her parents uprooted from Kenya while her mother was still pregnant with her. Lupita’s parents were highly regarded in Kenya. They both had strong educational and political backgrounds in their home country.
Peter Anyang Nyong’o began his political career in 1992 after working as a professor. He taught Political Science in Kenay but also taught in several Universities in Mexico which lead him to move his family there for a permanent teaching position. Later in his career Peter moved back to Kenya to reenter into the political realm serving as a Senator in the National Assembly of Kenya.
It’s no surprise that Lupita would be encouraged to attend a really good school when bother her parents were college professors. She attended the University of Massachusetts and graduated with a Bachelor’s in film studies but continued her education at Yale. In college she interned on several film and television sets and later produced. One of her earliest roles in front of the camera was part of the MTV series Shuga.
Shuga was a fictional series following the lives, relationships and education of several young adults. Lupita returned to Kenya in 2009 to film the series for it’s first season. Nyong’o expanded her resume with stage appearances. Credits under name include “The Winter’s Tale”, “Uncle Vanya” and “The Taming of the Shrew”.
In 2013 the role of a lifetime came when she landed the role as Patsey in “12 Years a Slave”. British film Director Steve McQueen wrote, produced and directed the film based on the memoir of Solomon Northup. Northup was a freed African American but was kidnapped and sold into slavery. He later became a freedman in 1853. Lupita plays Patsey a woman enslaved with Northup. Her vulnerable and unforgettable performance garnered plenty of praise and numerous critical acclaim. What’s most important is that she has a big pay raise coming up for future films. IF Hollywood will offer Black women more roles.
