Lupita Nyong’o Net Worth

Lupita Nyong’o's Quotes

• [on retaining overnight the elaborate scarring makeup on her back, incurred in the brutal whipping scene with the sadistic plantation owner] They were haunting. I could only sleep on my belly. I was just so aware of them the whole night. I remember fretting and weeping, and then it occurred to me that my discomfort was temporary, and the woman who I was playing, her discomfort was permanent. It just really centered me, and really quieted my soul for the next day's work.
• [on portraying Patsey in 12 Years a Slave (2013)] I was heartbroken by her story. I just felt so sorry for her. I recognized then that I had a lot of work to do to get to a point where I could play her, because feeling that kind of sympathy for someone is no way to actually inhabit them.. She was just simple and she was trying to get by on a daily basis. She's not sentimental about her pain. I had to have the same kind of attitude.
• [2014: Academy Award acceptance speech, closing remarks] When I look down at this golden statue, may it remind every child that no matter where you are from, your dreams are valid.
• I got teased and taunted about my skin. My one prayer to God was that I would wake up lighter skinned. The morning would come and I would be so excited about seeing my new skin that I would refuse to look down at myself until I was in front of the mirror because I wanted to see my face first. Every day I would feel the disappointment of being just as dark as the day before.
• [on supermodel Alek Wek] She was dark as night and was in all the magazines and on runways. My complexion had always been an obstacle to overcome. I couldn't believe that people were embracing a woman who looked so much like me as beautiful. It was perplexing and I wanted to reject it because I had begun to enjoy the seduction of inadequacy. But a flower couldn't help but bloom inside of me.

Interesting Facts about Lupita Nyong’o

1. Lupita is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama.
2. It is a Luo tradition to name a child after the events of the day, so her parents named her Lupita, because of her Mexican birth. She is the second of six children.
3. Born in Mexico City, Mexico, to Kenyan parents. Her father, Professor Anyang' Nyong'o, is a senator in Kenya.
4. Is the fourth Mexican-born actress to be nominated for an Oscar. The others, in chronological order, are: Katy Jurado for Broken Lance (1954), Salma Hayek for Frida (2002) and Adriana Barraza for Babel (2006).
5. When she won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in 12 Years a Slave (2013) in 2014, she became the first Kenyan to win an Oscar, the first African actress to win Best Actress in a Supporting Role and the first Mexican-born actress to win an Oscar.
6. Considers herself Mexican-Kenyan.
7. Is fluent in Luo, English, Swahili and Spanish.
8. Her brother, Junior, was her date to the Oscars in 2014.
9. Is of Luo descent on both sides of her family.
10. Moved from Mexico back to Kenya with her family when she was less than a year old.
11. Her father, Peter Anyang' Nyong'o, a former college professor, was elected to represent Kisumu County in the Kenyan Senate in 2013.
12. Her mother, Dorothy Ogada Buyu Nyong'o, is the managing director of the Africa Cancer Foundation and has her own communications company.
13. Was the 142nd actress to receive an Academy Award; she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for 12 Years a Slave (2013) at The 86th Academy Awards on March 2, 2014.
14. Unveiled as the "Face of Lancôme" becoming the first black celebrity to represent the French luxury cosmetic brand. She is the fourth Academy Award-winning actress to merit this post after Julia Roberts, Penélope Cruz and Kate Winslet. [April 2014]
15. Her first "Vogue" magazine cover (July 2014) was photographed by Swedish photographer Mikael Jansson.
16. Was originally cast as Angela Rivera in Southpaw (2015), but was replaced by Naomie Harris after dropping out of the project.
17. Is one of 13 actresses who won their Best Supporting Actress Oscars in a movie that also won the Best Picture Oscar (she won for 12 Years a Slave (2013)). The others are Hattie McDaniel for Gone with the Wind (1939), Teresa Wright for Mrs. Miniver (1942), Celeste Holm for Gentleman's Agreement (1947), Mercedes McCambridge for All the King's Men (1949), Donna Reed for From Here to Eternity (1953), Eva Marie Saint for On the Waterfront (1954), Rita Moreno for West Side Story (1961), Meryl Streep for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Juliette Binoche for The English Patient (1996), Judi Dench for Shakespeare in Love (1998), Jennifer Connelly for A Beautiful Mind (2001) and Catherine Zeta-Jones for Chicago (2002).
18. In 2014, was chosen by People Magazine as the World's Most Beautiful woman.
19. Second Vogue cover appearance: October 2015.
20. Shared the cover of Vanity Fair magazine's 2016 Hollywood issue with, Jane Fonda, Viola Davis, Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Lawrence, Rachel Weisz, Charlotte Rampling, Brie Larson, Alicia Vikander, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Helen Mirren, Diane Keaton and Saoirse Ronan. Photographed by Annie Leibovitz.