Marvel Studios&#8217; Black Panther bounded to success at the President&#8217;s Day box office, notching $242 million domestically over the four-day weekend &#8211; the second-highest such opening behind only Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and the biggest ever debut for a black director. In a triumph that could impact onscreen representation, its $184.6 million overseas total disproves a long-held industry myth that films with black casts underperform overseas.
The Ryan Coogler-directed action flick beat expectations to score the fifth biggest North American debut of all time. Even with an eye watering $200 million production budget and an estimated $150 million more spent on publicity, the tentpole it set to recoup its costs.
Black Panther follows T&#8217;Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) as he is crowned king of Wakanda, a technologically advanced nation in Africa rich in the valuable metal vibranium. Alongside a cast including Lupita Nyong&#8217;o, Daniel Kaluuya and Forest Whitaker, he must protect the throne from an outside challenger: the Oakland, California-raised Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan).
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/life/2018/02/21/marvelled-black-panthers-reimagining-africa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: How I marvelled at Black Panther&#8217;s reimagining of Africa</a>
The comic book adaptation has already become the top-grossing film with a predominantly black cast. It outperformed hits from yesteryear such as Martin Lawrence and Will Smith&#8217;s Bad Boys series and Eddie Murphy&#8217;s Coming to America, the latter of which grossed $288.8 million in 1988.
Given that North American theater attendance dipped 6% in 2017, international markets have become ever more important. But movies with black casts have long struggled with the lore that they don&#8217;t perform well overseas. Take 2015&#8217;s Straight Outta Compton, which notched just 20% of its $201.6 million gross internationally, or Get Out, which scored less than a third of its $176 million worldwide gross overseas.
Black Panther destroys that assumption: Its $184.6 million overseas tally already accounts for 43% of its total gross, putting its international performance on track with other Marvel movies which can often double their domestic take overseas.
&#8220;Audiences deserve to see themselves reflected on the big screen,&#8221; Disney distribution chief Dave Hollis told the <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/black-panther-weekend-box-office-record-shattering-debut-1085932" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hollywood Reporter</a>. &#8220;Beyond being the right thing to do, it makes for richer storytelling.&#8221;
In recent years, movements such as #OscarsSoWhite have drawn attention to the lack of representation onscreen. Black characters comprised just 13.6% of characters of the top-grossing films in 2016, while white characters accounted for 70.8% of characters, according to a <a href="http://annenberg.usc.edu/sites/default/files/Dr_Stacy_L_Smith-Inequality_in_900_Popular_Films.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2017 study</a> by USC Annenberg&#8217;s Media, Diversity &amp; Social Change initiative. That inequity was mirrored behind camera, too, where black directors made up just 5.6% of helmers. But far more black characters were found onscreen in movies with a black director than when a non-black director was in the seat.
Studios have begun taking steps to balance projects on both sides of the camera &#8211; and it&#8217;s boosting bottom lines. Last year, Warner Bros.&#8217; female fronted and helmed Wonder Woman grossed $821.8 million worldwide on a $149 million budget, while Universal&#8217;s Girls Trip, with four black stars and a black director, managed $140 million on a $19 million budget.
Disney has been leading the charge. Beyond Black Panther, it signed up Ava DuVernay to direct the forthcoming A Wrinkle in Time, starring Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Michael Peña and Mindy Kaling. Its 2017 cartoon offering, Coco, explored the Mexican holiday of the Day of the Dead as voiced by Latino actors.
&#8220;The world has embraced Black Panther, which has obliterated expectations, broken records and shattered myths,&#8221; tweeted Disney CEO and chairman Bob Iger.
<a href="http://www.forbesafrica.com/arts/2018/02/19/black-panther-box-office-records-broke-almost-broke-235m-debut/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">READ MORE: Black Panther: All The Box Office Records It Broke (And Almost Broke) In Its $235m Debut</a>
Disney bought Marvel for $4 billion in 2009, nabbing its character universe &#8211; which includes the Hulk, Thor, Captain America and now Black Panther &#8211; that make Marvel&#8217;s Cinematic Universe the highest-grossing franchise of all time.
Working within the framework of a superhero action movie, Black Panther focuses exclusively on black, African and African-American identities. The few white characters onscreen are not fleshed out and serve as little more than foils to the black protagonists &#8211; a refreshing reversal from Hollywood tropes that tokenize black characters, such as the black best friend.
In the U.S., Black Panther&#8216;s diverse cast was reflected in its audience. Some 37% of moviegoers were African-American, per ComsCore, compared to just 15% on usual superhero movies, reflecting a pent-up demand for a black superhero. Women also turned out in droves, accounting for 45% of all ticket buyers.
As the movie continues its international rollout, Disney will be hoping that for theater goers, it&#8217;s Wakanda forever. &#8211; Written by <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/natalierobehmed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-ga-track="contrib block byline">Natalie Robehmed</a>, FORBES STAFF

A $426.6 Million Opening Makes ‘Black Panther’ The Top-Grossing Film With A Black Cast

You are an established Hollywood actress now – an Oscar winner for 12 Years a Slave, do you have any plans to start your own business, be it a production house or otherwise?
Well, I actually am producing a film, Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and I am putting that hat on my head.
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<h3>And how is it going wearing two hats?</h3>
It is going well, it’s a learning curve for sure. But this is an industry I am very passionate about, I love storytelling. So I am just learning a new way to tell a story.
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The experience of being on the red carpet that night of the Oscars, what goes through your mind when they announce your name?
It was very confusing.
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<h3>In what sense does time stop?</h3>
It’s just I didn’t know if they had said my name or if I had said my name or my brother said my name, and you have no time to figure it out, you have to get up there and say something.
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And in terms of your process for a role, what do you do to embody the character, what is your method as it were?
Each role speaks for itself and you kind of design your preparation, depending on the kind of role. But it always starts with research about the world the character lives in.
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<h3>What kind of research did you do for Queen of Katwe?</h3>
Well, it was about learning as much as I can about these people. I was fortunately privileged enough to have the real Harriet – she is very much alive and kicking – and I sat with her and asked her to tell me about herself from her perspective and that was really cool, to ask her why she let Phiona go to Robert Katende’s chess academy and she was very practical, she said ‘he could give her a cup of porridge when I couldn’t’. So this is a woman who is very practical and principled as well and I felt very honoured to play because her dignity is one that doesn’t have a price tag on it.
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<h3>What is the experience of shooting in Uganda like?</h3>
It was incredible, to be on location shooting in the places where these things transpired, you are doing research as you walk and every day you are learning something new and deepening your understanding of your character and the world you live in. So for me, it was very fertile to be in Kampala, in Katwe, in its environments.
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<h3>As an African actress, you’ve now very much become an icon on this continent, do you feel it’s a big responsibility to shoulder and how do you feel to potentially mentor young girls to get where you’ve gotten to?</h3>
Well I don’t feel a responsibility at all, I feel like it’s my opportunity, it’s a conviction of my heart. I didn’t grow up seeing very many movies like Queen of Katwe, certainly not told by Disney so to have a chance to be that mirror this time feels very meaningful.
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<h3>Marvel’s Black Panther… what is your involvement there, are you are allowed to talk about it?</h3>
I am allowed to say who I am playing which is Nakia, and that’s about it.
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<h3>Is it a big studio film or…?</h3>
It’s Marvel… so it’s in the league of Captain America, Avengers and Iron Man… those kind of movies.
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<h3>Other than that, what are your future plans at this stage?</h3>
I am definitely looking forward to that, I have not shot that yet. So that is coming up shortly, and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun and totally new role for me and I will be producing Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah as well and I hope to do comedy sometime soon.
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<h3>In terms of influences, who are they, be it directors, actors or actresses?</h3>
Oh…I am very fortunate to work with people like J.J Abrams, Mira Nair, and Steve McQueen to name a few. I love Cate Blanchett, I love her work, I loved Elizabeth Taylor as well, Viola Davis is fierce, Sidney Poitier is incomparable, yeah, those are some of them…

Queen of Katwe Movie Premier in South Africa

‘I Hope To Do Comedy Sometime Soon’

The night we go to press with this issue is when Lupita Nyong’o jets in from Kampala to Johannesburg for the premiere of her new film, Disney’s Queen of Katwe, releasing in South Africa mid-October.
Getting a phone interview – even two exclusive email quotes – from this African A-lister, despite relentlessly pursuing her PR machinery for months, has proven painfully difficult.
But this is Lupita, the African who brought home the best supporting actress Oscar for her turn as Patsey in Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave in 2014. Her Cinderella-esque pose with the Oscar statue in the billowing blue – a color she famously said reminded her of Nairobi – Prada dress is still fresh in social media memory.
This spring, she was seen in Eclipsed, which made its Broadway debut and was written by another famous African daughter, Danai Gurira, the playwright more popular as the actress in The Walking Dead.
Eclipsed, a story about hope and activism starring a cast of all-African women, saw Lupita scoop the best Broadway debut performance award at the 2016 Theatre World Awards. The play explores the journey of four women drawn together due to the turmoil in their home country, Liberia.
Referring to her portrayal in Eclipsed, The New York Times said: “The superb Lupita Nyong’o is one of the most radiant young actors to be seen on Broadway in recent seasons.”
The Mexican-born Lupita, who was raised in Kenya, plays a part closer to home in Queen of Katwe, as Harriet, the strong-willed mother of Ugandan child chess prodigy, Phiona Mutesi.
The coming-of-age film, which is a true story, set in Katwe and Kibuli in Uganda, is directed by Mira Nair, who has straddled world cinema with such memorable films as Salaam Bombay!, Mississippi Masala, Monsoon Wedding, The Namesake and The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Nair has had a home in Kampala for the past 27 years and is the founder of Maisha Film Lab, a film school for East Africans.
In a press statement, Nair says the role of Harriet was written for Lupita, who she has known for years.
“I thought of Harriet as a young Mother Courage, and that is the strength and beauty that is in Lupita,” says Nair.
Lupita was an intern at Nair’s production company Mirabai Films in New York before she shot to fame with 12 Years a Slave. The actress had reportedly broken down and cried after reading just 10 pages of the script of Queen of Katwe.
“It was the first time in a while that I’d been so enlivened, inspired and challenged by a role I was considering,” says Nyong’o.
In its review of the film, The New York Times, said: “The sight of well-fed, well-dressed schoolboys beaten by a girl — a poor girl, at that — would be satisfying even if Queen of Katwe were a less vivid and engaging movie.”
In the interim leading up to the film, Lupita had also essayed roles in Non-Stop with Liam Neeson, The Jungle Book and played the voice of 1,000-year-old space pirate Maz Kanata in Star Wars: A Force Awakens, which released winter 2015.
And there have been other ‘appearances’. Lupita recently posted a video on her Instagram account showing off her freestyle-rapping skills, much to the mirth of her 3.1 million followers.
Lupita is also the Global Elephant Ambassador for WildAid, a wildlife conservation group focusing on protecting animals from being poached.
While Kenya banned the ivory trade over 20 years ago, WildAid says close to 33,000 elephants are killed annually in Africa for ivory. Lupita joined WildAid, for the campaign ‘Poaching Steals from Us All’, in July 2015, to advocate the protection and survival of elephants. It’s a role she takes seriously.
WildAid CEO Peter Knights says it has been amazing working with the star.
“Lupita is such a powerful presence on-screen, and this power has translated so beautifully to this campaign. She is truly passionate and committed to saving Africa’s elephants,” says Knights to FORBES WOMAN AFRICA.
Lupita had recently also gone back to her roots in Kenya for the October cover of Vogue. Needless to say, the 33-year-old Yale School of Drama graduate is leaving a trail as the beacon of hope for other young women in her country.
Moses Wafula, the principal of St. Mary’s School Nairobi, where Lupita was a student, calls her the school’s “heroine”.
“St. Mary’s School is very proud of Lupita. It’s a joy even to us who have ridden in the fame she has brought to the institution. Her success is a brand to our school and thence, many students have joined this institution since her Oscars’ triumph,” he says.
Attests Vivian Onano, an activist and youth ambassador for UN Women, who hails from Kisumu county in Kenya where Lupita is also from: “Lupita is a great role model and an inspiration for many young African women, me included. Despite her success, she has maintained her authenticity and stayed grounded. She has boldly showed us that you don’t have to conform to Hollywood’s definition of beauty to be successful in the global space. She acknowledges her roots and has used her platform to create opportunities for other young ladies who aspire to be like her.”
Kenyan photographer Lyndsey McIntyre, who knew Lupita before she became famous, was invited by the actress to a film she had produced on albinism, a subject McIntyre says Lupita is passionate about.
“The documentary was incredible… She always had that star quality about her even years ago but was humble, intelligent and very charming. I have no doubt Lupita is still humble and charming, she is just one of those types of people I think will manage to keep her feet on the ground,” she says.
“Like most people who acquire that level of recognition, she is exceptional, a one in a million. She has many gifts — her beauty, her intellect, her tremendous talent and her lovely personality but she was also privileged in her upbringing and studied her craft in the US when she was signed by obviously an excellent agent. She was not plucked out of a village in rural Kenya or even out of Nairobi,” says McIntyre.
In Kenya, Lupita’s parents have a reputation of their own. Her father, Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o, is a professor of political science and senator of Kisumu county. Onano, who knows Lupita’s mother Dorothy (see interview on previous page), calls her: “A quiet lady though a great force and a doer; a very beautiful woman full of grace and a big heart.”
It’s the same grace and creative zest Lupita brings. Her hairstylist Vernon François, who created the brown and blue head wrap for her interview on American talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live in September, tells FORBES WOMAN AFRICA working with Lupita is a fantastic creative process.
“We have a very productive relationship because we are both always full of ideas and collaborate well. Selecting the material for every head wrap that I design for her, is always a team effort between Lupita, her stylist and myself,” he says.
Fans can now look forward to Lupita playing Nakia in Marvel’s Black Panther, which will cast her with The Walking Dead’s Gurira; the film’s expected to be released in 2018.
She is also in the upcoming much-awaited film adaptation of Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s book Americanah.
Africa is watching.
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<h2>‘She Will Continue To Break Through Ceilings For People of Color’</h2>
<div id="attachment_32006" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-32006" class="wp-image-32006 size-large" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/GettyImages-476081543-1024x871.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="871" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/GettyImages-476081543-1024x871.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/GettyImages-476081543-300x255.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/GettyImages-476081543-600x511.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/GettyImages-476081543-768x653.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/GettyImages-476081543.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />SANTA MONICA, CA- MARCH 01: Actress Lupita Nyong&#8217;o (R) and mother Dorothy Nyong&#8217;o attend the 2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards at Santa Monica Beach on March 1, 2014 in Santa Monica, California.(Photo by Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage)</div>
<h4>Lupita’s mother, Dorothy Nyong’o, is an advocate for women and girls and whose work with the Africa Cancer Foundation speaks for itself. Known in Kenya for her commitment to cancer patients and cancer research, she also owns a public relations firm, 7th Sense Communications:</h4>
<pre></pre>
<h4>Do you travel often with Lupita?</h4>
I occasionally travel to meet Lupita at work. She takes her work very seriously. She has a very high work ethic and does whatever is necessary to give it her very best. At the same time, she likes to enjoy her work. She is playful and builds in enjoyment of the process and of the moment. She has always done so.
<h4>How do think Kenyans have responded to Lupita’s success?</h4>
Kenyans generally own Lupita’s success. They have personal pride in her achievements and feel she belongs to them. They are inspired by her and have a lot of goodwill towards her. She is a good role model for many. People often ask me, ‘how is our daughter?’
<h4>What do you think the future entails for her in Africa?</h4>
Lupita is already a role model in Africa and worldwide. She is an influencer and a leader in her craft. She will continue to break through real and imaginary ceilings for people of color and for women all over the world. She will continue to create opportunities for Africans and people of color, worldwide.
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shutterstock_432782164-Ovidiu-Hrubaru-Shutterstock.com-

Queen Bee!

Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o, 33, grew up in Nairobi before studying film and theater at Hampshire College, Massachusetts. Her father, Peter, is a politician who has spoken of being harassed and tortured for his beliefs. In 2014, Nyong’o won the Oscar for best supporting actress for her role as Patsey in 12 Years a Slave. She currently lives in Brooklyn. Here, she talks fame, and how childhood readied her for it:
Being uncomfortable with sudden fame is nothing to be ashamed of. It can be trying and confusing. Being cast in 12 Years a Slave completely altered the architecture of my life. I had come straight out of school and everything seemed to change overnight. Suddenly there was all this recognition. It still surprises me when people know who I am.
If I look calm, it’s probably because I’m terrified. Human beings have three reactions to stress – fight, flight or freeze – and my default is to freeze. If that comes across as calmness, I’m lucky.
I have a lot to thank television for. As a child in Kenya, it presented me with a window to the world. I was exposed to different cultures through shows from England, Australia, Brazil, Mexico. TV taught me what it means to be human.
In my family, looking good is a sign of respect. You should take time to present yourself well for an occasion. I grew up with so much grooming that, after a while, I got sick of it and cut off all my hair.
My tempestuous nature has served me well. As an actor, I can play the storm as well as the eye of the storm. It is very damaging to have only one notion of beauty. My teenage years were plagued by the idea that light skin was better skin. There were adverts on TV about a woman trying to get a job and she only got it when she applied skin-lightening cream. I felt that I was not considered beautiful because of my complexion. My self-worth was deeply compromised in those years.
What you wear has to stand the test of time. You need clean lines and maybe a bit of humor, too.
My childhood prepared me for this life in more ways than I could have imagined. I witnessed my father navigating life as a public figure and also just being my dad. He was on the cover of the newspaper and everyone was talking about him in an abstract manner in my presence. Then I would go home to a very real man who was tired and needed a back rub. I grew up meeting world leaders and, as such, I have always known that incredible people are also very normal people.
Throw a seed over your shoulder and it will grow. At least, in East Africa it will. I miss eating the seeds from the baobab trees.
The most important thing to instil in a child is curiosity. Going to college was never a question. I was born expected to achieve. But I found school to be a very narrow experience, having to cram in all this theoretical and literary information. I learn through story and experience. If it weren’t for my parents, who were very liberal, I think I would have given up on myself.
Stand up for what you believe in. I’ve witnessed my father stand in the line of fire for his causes. He has sacrificed a lot for his beliefs and my family has had to stand by him and support his calling.
Don’t get me started on self-righteousness. The idea that how you see the world is the only way the world can be is so annoying. Eat deep-fried food. In Kenya, we deep-fry anything. There’s a snack called chevdo, which is a mix of deep-fried potatoes, peas, raisins and cashews. There’s a fruit that’s really good for you – higher in calcium than milk – but we fry it up with red spice before we eat it. It’s heavenly.

Celebrities Visit SiriusXM – September 26, 2016

Lupita Nyong’o:  What I’ve Learned

And the Oscar for best supporting actress goes to…”
The camera panned across five nervous nominees: Jennifer Lawrence for American Hustle; June Squibb for Nebraska; Julia Roberts for August: Osage County, Sally Hawkins for Blue Jasmine and newcomer, Lupita Nyong’o for 12 Years a Slave.
Last year’s best supporting actor, Christoph Waltz, was on stage at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles at Hollywood’s night of the year – the 86th Academy Awards.
Lawrence was also a favorite for her role of Rosalyn Rosenfeld in American Hustle, but it was not to be. In a blaze of emotion, up stepped a daughter of Kenya. It was March 2, 75 years after Hattie McDaniel became the first black person to win an Academy Award for her role in Gone With The Wind. In more than seven decades, a mere seven black women have won in either the Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress categories; and only three hailed from Africa.
“Lupita Nyong’o is already an African icon, not just for what she has achieved with her remarkable win at the Academy Awards, but more importantly for what she has almost overnight come to symbolize, the undeniable truth that African women are increasingly charting their own course,” says Biola Alabi, Managing Director of M-Net in Africa.
“Here is a beautiful black woman, comfortable in her own skin, clearly highly educated, who can champion the next generation of African talent; she is a blessing to Kenya and the continent and long may she prosper. From where I sit, it is an absolute truth that the lead performances were Kenyan and Nigerian – I know its trendy to call Chiwetel Ejiofor black British but he is an Ibo boy and we claim him. However, perhaps African countries can begin to understand and appreciate the nobility of the higher arts of song, dance, theater and film and invest and support them… I would have loved to see her shout out Kenya and say something in Swahili but, hey, you can’t have it all,” says entrepreneur Obi Asika, the Chairman of Social Media Week Lagos.
What a difference six months makes. Back then, 31-year-old Nyong’o was a struggling unknown in Hollywood who lived lean and carried her own clothes.
The role that was to change her life, cast her alongside London-born Nigerian, Ejiofor, in a film based on the 1853 memoir by Solomon Northup – the tale of a free man kidnapped into slavery.
Steve McQueen cast Nyong’o three weeks before she graduated from Yale School of Drama, after a chance audition in New York. Her manager had the script ready for another client, but when Nyong’o was asked to read, McQueen was keen on her playing Patsey. It went to a second audition with the casting director.
“It was a one-hour, very grueling audition. Then I was shortlisted and invited to Louisiana to audition with Steve about two weeks later. So it was three auditions in three different states,” she says.
Filled with excitement she phoned her father, Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o, a professor back in Nairobi, to tell him the news that she was going to be in a film with Brad Pitt.
“My father said he had never heard of him, but he was glad I had finally got a job,” says Nyong’o.
It has been a long and winding journey that began in the gentle world of amateur dramatics. It was with the Pheonix Players in Nairobi that Nyong’o took her first tender steps in Shakespeare.
Drama teacher, Ian Mbugua, who ran the Phoenix Players for 19 years, remembers it well.
“Lupita first came to us as a student from Rusinga School. She was brought by her father Professor Anyang’ Nyong’o who had obviously seen her talent. Nyongo and his wife Dorothy were very supportive of the theater and used to bring young Lupita to productions. He left her in the capable hands of James Falkland who put her as Juliet alongside George Mumbai, who played Romeo,” says Mbugua.
“Needless to say she gave a sterling performance… I was very impressed by her parent’s support. At a time when parents wanted their kids to study medicine, law, engineering, the Nyongos supported her dream to be an actress. She always approached rehearsals and performances with the seriousness they deserved. She was very eloquent and had wonderful stage presence. She was a passionate actress. Off-stage she had a great sense of humor and was always quick to laugh.”
“We remember how brilliantly she played Juliet in Romeo and Juliet at the Phoenix Theatre, at the age of 14 years; how she cracked our ribs during St. Mary’s School plays, or at the British High Commission, when as a teenager, she played Natalya in Anton Chekhov’s The Proposal,” says her mother, Dorothy Nyong’o.
Nyong’o emigrated to the United States 10 years ago, where she earned a degree in film and theater studies from Hampshire College. In her summer break, she headed back to Africa where she worked on the production crew of Mira Nair’s The Namesake. In another Nairobi summer, she served as a production assistant on the set of The Constant Gardener starring Ralph Fiennes.
“Ralph Fiennes was a pivotal influence on me,” she told the New York Post. “He asked me, ‘So what is it you want to do?’ I very shyly, timidly admitted I wanted to be an actor. He sighed, and said, ‘Lupita, only be an actor if you feel there is nothing else in the world you want to do – only do it if you feel you cannot live without acting.’”
The second of six children, Nyong’o was born in Mexico City, where her father, a politician in Kenya, had fled to following the disappearance of his brother in difficult political times. The Nyong’o family hails from the Luo people in western Kenya, like Barack Obama’s father. When Nyong’o was less than a year old, her parents moved back to Kenya, where her father is now a senator representing Kisumu County; her mother is the managing director of the Africa Cancer Foundation. Her parents sent her back to Mexico, at the age of 16, to learn Spanish.
Fast forward to the Oscars, Nyong’o, who sports short kinky hair and a pale blue Prada dress, a color she says reminds her of Nairobi, picked up the award for one of the great moments in movie history. The moment when the sadistic cotton plantation owner Edwin Epps, played by Michael Fassbender, whips Patsey near to death; when it becomes unbearable, he forces her friend Solomon to take over.
“It doesn’t escape me for one moment that so much joy in my life is thanks to so much pain in someone else’s, and so I want to salute the spirit of Patsey for her guidance,” says a tearful Nyong’o on Oscar night.
What is next for Kenya’s first Oscar winner? Her next role is in a thriller set on an international flight, with Liam Neeson, that opened in February. It is likely to sell well in Nairobi where a whole new generation of young Kenyan actresses are learning their lines for the amateur stage with one eye on Lupita and the other on the future.

Lupitamania!

“And the Oscar goes to…”
The camera panned across five nervous nominees: Jennifer Lawrence for American Hustle; June Squibb for Nebraska; Julia Roberts for August: Osage County, Sally Hawkins for Blue Jasmine and newcomer, Lupita Nyong’o for 12 Years a Slave.
Last year’s best supporting actor, Christoph Waltz, was on stage at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles at Hollywood’s night of the year—the 86th Academy Awards.
<div id="attachment_2618" style="width: 210px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2618" class="size-medium wp-image-2618" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/476325217-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="300" />THE OSCARS(r) &#8211; PRESS ROOM &#8211; The Academy Awards(r) for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, MARCH 2 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET/5:00-8:00 p.m., PT), at the Dolby Theatre(r) at Hollywood &amp; Highland Center(r) and televised live on the ABC Television Network. (Photo by Rick Rowell/ABC via Getty Images) LUPITA NYONG&#8217;O</div>
Lawrence was the favorite for her role of Rosalyn Rosenfeld in American Hustle, but it was not to be. In a blaze of emotion, up stepped a daughter of Kenya. It was March 2, seventy five years after Hattie McDaniel became the first black person to win an Academy Award. In more than seven decades, a mere seven black women have won in either the Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress categories; only three hailed from Africa.
“Lupita Nyong’o is already an African icon, not just for what she has achieved with her remarkable win at the Academy Awards, but more importantly for what she has almost overnight come to symbolize, the undeniable truth that African women are increasingly charting their own course,” says Biola Alabi, the managing director of M-Net in Africa.
“Here is a beautiful black woman, comfortable in her own skin, clearly highly educated, who can champion the next generation of African talent; she is a blessing to Kenya and the continent and long may she prosper. From where I sit, it is an absolute truth that the lead performances were Kenyan and Nigerian—I know its trendy to call Chiwetel Ejiofor black British but he is an Ibo boy and we claim him. However, perhaps African countries can begin to understand and appreciate the nobility of the higher arts of song, dance, theater and film and invest and support them… I would have loved to see her shout out Kenya and say something in Swahili but, hey, you can’t have it all,” says entrepreneur Obi Asika, the chairman of Social Media Week Lagos.
What a difference six months makes. Back then, 31-year-old Nyong’o was a struggling unknown in Hollywood who lived lean and carried her own clothes.
The role that was to change her life, cast her alongside London-born Nigerian, Ejiofor, in a film based on the 1853 memoir by Solomon Northup—the tale of a free man kidnapped into slavery.
Steve McQueen cast Nyong’o three weeks before she graduated from Yale School of Drama, after a chance audition in New York. Her manager had the script ready for another client, but when Nyong’o was asked to read, McQueen was keen on her playing Patsey. It went to a second audition with the casting director.
“It was a one-hour, very gruelling audition. Then I was shortlisted and invited to Louisiana to audition with Steve about two weeks later. So it was three auditions in three different states,” she says.
Filled with excitement she phoned her father, Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o, a professor back in Nairobi, to tell him the news that she was going to be in a film with Brad Pitt.
“My father said he had never heard of him, but he was glad I had finally got a job,” says Nyong’o.
It has been a long and winding journey that began in the gentle world of amateur dramatics. It was with the Pheonix Players in Nairobi that Nyong’o took her first tender steps in Shakespeare.
Drama teacher, Ian Mbugua, who ran the Phoenix Players for 19 years, remembers it well.
“Lupita first came to us as a student from Rusinga School. She was brought by her father Professor Anyang’ Nyong’o who had obviously seen her talent. Nyongo and his wife Dorothy were very supportive of the theater and used to bring young Lupita to productions. He left her in the capable hands of James Falkland who put her as Juliet alongside George Mumbai, who played Romeo,” says Mbugua.
“Needless to say she gave a sterling performance… I was very impressed by her parent’s support. At a time when parents wanted their kids to study medicine, law, engineering, the Nyongos supported her dream to be an actress. She always approached rehearsals and performances with the seriousness they deserved. She was very eloquent and had wonderful stage presence. She was a passionate actress. Off-stage she had a great sense of humor and was always quick to laugh.”
“We remember how brilliantly she played Juliet in Romeo and Juliet at the Phoenix Theatre, at the age of 14 years; how she cracked our ribs during St. Mary’s School plays, or at the British High Commission, when as a teenager, she played Natalya in Anton Chekhov’s The Proposal,” says her mother, Dorothy Nyong’o.
Nyong’o emigrated to the United States 10 years ago, where she earned a degree in film and theater studies from Hampshire College. In her summer break, she headed back to Africa where she worked on the production crew of Mira Nair’s The Namesake. In another Nairobi summer, she served as a production assistant on the set of The Constant Gardener starring Ralph Fiennes.
“Ralph Fiennes was a pivotal influence on me,” she told the New York Post. “He asked me, ‘So what is it you want to do?’ I very shyly, timidly admitted that I wanted to be an actor. He sighed, and he said, ‘Lupita, only be an actor if you feel there is nothing else in the world you want to do—only do it if you feel you cannot live without acting.’”
The second of six children, Nyong’o was born in Mexico City, where her father, a politician in Kenya, had fled to following the disappearance of his brother in difficult political times. The Nyong’o family hails from the Luo people in western Kenya, like Barack Obama’s father. When Nyong’o was less than a year old, her parents moved back to Kenya, where her father is now a senator representing Kisumu County; her mother is the managing director of the Africa Cancer Foundation. Her parents sent her back to Mexico, at the age of 16, to learn Spanish.
Fast forward to the Oscars, Nyong’o, who sports short kinky hair and a pale blue dress, a color she says reminds her of Nairobi, picked up the award for one of the great moments in movie history. The moment when the sadistic cotton plantation owner Edwin Epps, played by Michael Fassbender, whips Patsey near to death; when it becomes unbearable, he forces her friend Solomon to take over.
“It doesn’t escape me for one moment that so much joy in my life is thanks to so much pain in someone else’s, and so I want to salute the spirit of Patsey for her guidance,” says a tearful Nyong’o on Oscar night.
What is next for Kenya’s first Oscar winner? Her next role is in a thriller set on an international flight, with Liam Neeson, that opened in February. It is likely to sell well in Nairobi where a whole new generation of young Kenyan actresses are learning their lines for the amateur stage with one eye on Lupita and the other on the future.

Tag: Lupita Nyong’o

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