Lupita Nyong'o landed the role of a lifetime when she was cast as Patsey in the critically acclaimed film "12 Years A Slave." We're glad to see her in the national spotlight as both a briliiant actress and an emerging red carpet star. But what do we really know about the newest addition to our list of favorite actresses?
1. Wondering where she got the name Lupita? Nyong’o was born in Mexico City, Mexico, raised in Kenya and now lives in the US.
2. She studied film and theater studies at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts.
3. Lupita had just graduated from Yale School of Drama’s Acting program in 2012 when she began "12 Years a Slave." Fellow alumnae include Sanaa Lathan and Angela Bassett.
4. She comes from a distinguished family. Her father is Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o, a politician serving in the Kenyan Senate. Her cousin Isis was named one of Africa’s most powerful women in Forbes in 2012. Her other cousin Tavia Nyong’o is an associate professor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
5. She comes from the same ethnic group in Kenya (Luo) as President Barack Obama’s father.
6. Lupita Nyong’o was the lead in MTV’s award-winning drama series, Shuga. A TV series that was part of a ground-breaking multimedia campaign to spread the message about responsible sexual behaviour and tolerance.
7. In 2009, she wrote, directed, and produced the documentary In My Genes, about the treatment of Kenya’s albino population, which played at several film festivals.
8. Lupita will in Liam Neeson’s upcoming action thriller Non-Stop. Talk about a change of pace.
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