Lupita Nyong'o

Lupita Nyong'o began her career working behind the scenes on films including The Constant Gardener (2005), The Namesake (2006), and Where God Left His Shoes (2007). She made her acting debut in the short film East River (2008) and appeared in the Kenyan television series Shuga (2008). In 2009, she wrote, directed, and produced the documentary In My Genes. She later studied acting at the Yale School of Drama, where she performed in stage productions including Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights, Uncle Vanya, The Taming of the Shrew, and The Winter’s Tale.

Nyong’o’s breakthrough film role came in 12 Years a Slave (2013). She then appeared in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), portraying Maz Kanata using motion capture. She returned to the stage in Eclipsed (2015), which later transferred to Broadway in 2016. That same year, she voiced Raksha in The Jungle Book (2016) and co-starred in Queen of Katwe (2016).

In 2018, she portrayed Nakia in Black Panther. She next starred in Little Monsters (2019) and had a leading dual role in Us (2019). Also in 2019, she narrated the documentary series Serengeti. In 2020, she appeared in Black Is King.

In 2021, Nyong’o served as executive producer and voice actor on the animated series Super Sema and appeared in the radio play adaptation Romeo y Julieta. She also narrated the documentary Who Are You, Charlie Brown? (2021). In 2022, she starred in The 355, guest-starred in Human Resources, and reprised her role as Nakia in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

In 2024, Nyong’o starred in A Quiet Place: Day One and voiced the lead role in The Wild Robot. She also began hosting the podcast Mind Your Own. She is scheduled to appear in Christopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey, set for release in 2026.