Lupita Nyong'o

Lupita Nyong’o is a Kenyan-Mexican actress, producer, and author, born in Mexico and raised in Kenya in an artistic family, with dual Kenyan and Mexican citizenship. She studied in the United States and earned a B.A. from Hampshire College before beginning a film career that includes an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for 12 Years a Slave and acclaimed roles in Queen of Katwe, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Black Panther, and Us, as well as a Tony-nominated Broadway debut in Danai Gurira’s play Eclipsed.

Nyong’o made her writing debut with the children’s picture book Sulwe, first published in English in October 2019. The book, a #1 New York Times bestselling title, follows a young Kenyan girl with very dark skin who learns self-acceptance and challenges colorism; Nyong’o has stated that the story draws on her own childhood experiences and is aimed at helping young children see their own beauty. Sulwe has also been released in Swahili and Luo editions in East Africa.