LUPITA WOULD NOT HAVE MADE IT IN NOLLYWOOD BECAUSE OF HER BLACK SKIN,ASK GENEVIEVE NNAJI.
Lupita Nyong'o
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lupita Amondi Nyong'o (/ˌluːˈpiːtə ˈnjoʊŋoʊ/; born March 1, 1983) is an actress and music video director of dual Kenyan and Mexican citizenship.[2] She identifies as Mexican-Kenyan.[3] Nyong'o made her feature film debut in Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave (2013) as Patsey, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, among numerous other awards and nominations. She is one of the few actors who has won an Academy Award for their debut performance in a feature film
| Lupita Nyong'o | |
|---|---|
Nyong'o at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival
| |
| Born | Lupita Amondi Nyong'o[1] March 1, 1983 Mexico City, Mexico |
| Residence | New York City |
| Ethnicity | Luo |
| Citizenship | Kenyan, Mexican[2][3] |
| Alma mater | Hampshire College Yale School of Drama (MFA) |
| Occupation | Actress, film director, music video director |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Parents | Peter Anyang' Nyong'o (father) |
| Relatives | Isis Nyong'o (cousin) Tavia Nyong'o (cousin)  |
Personal life[edit]
Nyong'o was born in Mexico City, Mexico,[4][5][6] to Dorothy and Peter Anyang' Nyong'o, a politician inKenya.[7] It is a Luo tradition to name a child after the events of the day, so her parents named her Lupita (adiminutive of "Guadalupe" Our Lady of Guadalupe).[8] She is of completely Luo descent on both sides of her family, and is the second of six children.[9] Her father was the former Kenyan Minister for Medical Services. At the time of Lupita's birth, he was a visiting lecturer in political science at El Colegio de Mexico in Mexico City,[9][10] and her family had been living in Mexico for three years.
Nyong'o moved back to Kenya with her parents when she was less than one year old,[8] when her father was appointed a professor at the University of Nairobi.[9] She grew up primarily in Kenya, and describes her upbringing as "middle class, suburban".[10] At age sixteen, her parents sent her back to Mexico for seven months to learn Spanish.[8][11] During those seven months, Nyong'o lived in Taxco, Mexico, and took classes at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico's Learning Center for Foreigners.[11]
In 2013, her father was elected to represent Kisumu County in the Kenyan Senate.[8] Nyong'o's mother is currently the managing director of the Africa Cancer Foundation and her own communicationscompany.[12][13] Her cousin Tavia Nyong'o is a scholar and professor at New York University. In 2012, her older cousin, Isis Nyong'o, was named one of Africa's most powerful women by Forbes magazine.[14][15] Her uncle, Aggrey Nyong'o, a prominent Kenyan physician, was killed in a road accident in 2002.[16]
Nyong'o currently resides in Brooklyn. She is fluent in her native Luo, English, Swahili and Spanish.[11].
Nyong'o grew up in an artistic family, where family get-togethers often included performances by the children in the family and trips to see plays.[12] She attended an all-girls school in Kenya and acted in school plays, with a minor role in Oliver Twist being her first play.[10] At age 14, Nyong'o made her professional acting debut as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet in a production by the Nairobi, Kenya-based repertory company Phoenix Players.[10][12] While a member of the Phoenix Players, Nyong'o also performed in the plays "On The Razzle" and "There Goes The Bride".[13] Nyong'o cites the performances of Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey in The Color Purple with inspiring her to pursue a professional acting career.[17][18]
Nyong'o attended college in the United States. After graduating from Hampshire College with a degree in film and theatre studies,[19] she worked as part of the production crew for many films, including Fernando Meirelles's The Constant Gardener, with Ralph Fiennes, Mira Nair's The Namesake, and Salvatore Stabile's Where God Left His Shoes.[20] She cites Fiennes as another individual who inspired her to pursue a professional acting career.[10]
She starred in the 2008 short film East River, directed by Marc Grey and shot in Brooklyn, New York.[21] She returned to Kenya in 2008 and starred in the Kenyan television series Shuga, an MTV Base Africa/UNICEF drama about HIV/AIDS prevention.[20] In 2009, she wrote, directed, and produced the documentary In My Genes, about the treatment of Kenya's albino population,[9] which played at several film festivals and won first prize at the 2008 Five College Film Festival.[20] Nyong'o also directed the music video The Little Things You Do by Wahu ft. Bobi Wine,[20] which was nominated for the Best Video Award at the MTV Africa Music Awards 2009.[20]
She subsequently enrolled in the acting program at the Yale School of Drama. At Yale she appeared in many stage productions, including Gertrude Stein'sDoctor Faustus Lights the Lights, Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, and Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew and The Winter's Tale.[6] While at Yale, she was the recipient of the Herschel Williams Prize "awarded to acting students with outstanding ability" during the 2011–2012 school year.[1]
Nyong'o landed her breakout role[22] when she was cast in 12 Years a Slave immediately before graduating from Yale with an MFA in 2012.[10][12] The film was released in 2013 to great critical acclaim. Nyong'o received rave reviews for her performance,[23] and has been nominated for several awards including a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and two Screen Actors Guild Awards including Best Supporting Actress, which she won.[24] She co-starred in Liam Neeson's 2014 film Non-Stop.[9] On March 2, 2014, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the sixth black actress to win the award.[25]
In 2014, she was chosen as one of the faces for Miu Miu's Spring 2014 campaign, with Elizabeth Olsen, Elle Fanning and Bella Heathcote. She has also appeared on the covers of several magazines, including New York's Spring 2014 fashion issue[26] and UK magazine Dazed & Confused.[27] She has also been a regular on Harper's Bazaar's Derek Blasberg's Best Dressed List since Autumn 2013.[12]
Filmography[edit]
Films[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | East River | F | Short |
| 2013 | 12 Years a Slave | Patsey | |
| 2014 | Non-Stop | Gwen Lloyd |
Television[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Shuga | Ayira | Miniseries |
Awards and nominations[edit]
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | African-American Film Critics Association | Best Breakout Performance | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | Alliance of Women Film Journalists | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | Austin Film Critics Association | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | BAFTA Awards | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Nominated |
| 2013 | Boston Online Film Critics Association | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | Boston Society of Film Critics | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Nominated |
| 2013 | Broadcast Film Critics Association | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | Central Ohio Film Critics Association | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Nominated |
| 2013 | Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Supporting Actress | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | Florida Film Critics Circle | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | Georgia Film Critics Association | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | 12 Years a Slave | Nominated |
| 2013 | Hamptons International Film Festival | Breakthrough Performer | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | Hollywood Film Festival | New Hollywood Award | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | Houston Film Critics Society | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | Iowa Film Critics | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | Kansas City Film Critics Circle | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | Las Vegas Film Critics Society | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | Los Angeles Film Critics Association | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | National Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Nominated |
| 2013 | New York Film Critics Circle | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Nominated |
| 2013 | Online Film Critics Society | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | Palm Springs International Film Festival | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | Phoenix Film Critics Society | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | 12 Years a Slave | Nominated |
| 2013 | St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2013 | Toronto Film Critics Association | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Nominated |
| 2013 | Washington DC Area Film Critics Association | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
| 2014 | Academy Awards | Best Actress in Supporting Role | 12 Years a Slave | Won |
Source:Wilkipedia.
The question is,Nollywood,Nigerian version of Hollywood and Bollywood.Or even Gollywood as the Ghanian version is known due to addiction to lighetr skin or mainly bleached skin would most likely never cast Lupita in leading or supporting role.No matter how talented she is.Ivy league education might not help either.Genevieve Nnaji,about the most talented in Nollywood would tell you how tough it was for her to get lead roles eariler in her career because of her dark skin.Any arguement or defence to this only needs the Critic to point at the Leading Ladies in Nollywood.Many applaud Lupita now but how many will cast her favourably or even accept that talent comes across more to the Audience.Not fakes who get roles for lighter skin,bigger boobs/back sides and so on.And it is back to the case where the outside world has to tell Africans what is good,somehow Alec Wek comes to mind.