Trivia

Is fluent in Luo, English, Swahili and Spanish.

When she won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in 12 Years a Slave (2013) in 2014, she became the first Kenyan to win an Oscar, the first African actress to win Best Actress in a Supporting Role and the first Mexican-born actress to win an Oscar.

Lupita is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama.

Born in Mexico City, Mexico, to Kenyan parents. Her father, Professor Anyang' Nyong'o, is a senator in Kenya.

Attributes her career choice to British actor Ralph Fiennes. While she was a production assistant on The Constant Gardener (2005) during the Nairobi/Kenya leg of the shoot, she asked Ralph for advice on becoming an actress and he told her that it was tough, but that if acting was what she really wanted to pursue, she simply had to persevere. Eight years later, after attending a screening of 12 Years a Slave (2013) at the Telluride Film Festival in August 2013, Lupita approached Ralph afterwards wondering if he'd remember her. He did, instantly, but he had no idea that she was the character Patsey whose performance had blown him away minutes earlier.

First Kenyan actress to be nominated for, and to win, an Academy Award.

Considers herself Mexican-Kenyan.

It is a Luo tradition to name a child after the events of the day, so her parents named her Lupita, because of her Mexican birth. She is the second of six children.

Her brother, Junior, was her date to the Oscars in 2014.

Her mother, Dorothy Ogada Buyu Nyong'o, is the managing director of the Africa Cancer Foundation and has her own communications company.

In 2014, was chosen by People Magazine as the World's Most Beautiful woman.

Unveiled as the "Face of Lancôme" becoming the first black celebrity to represent the French luxury cosmetic brand. She is the fourth Academy Award-winning actress to merit this post after Julia Roberts, Penélope Cruz and Kate Winslet. (April 2014)

Moved from Mexico back to Kenya with her family when she was less than a year old.

The N and G in her surname are actually silent.

Is of Luo descent on both sides of her family.

Is the fourth Mexican-born actress to be nominated for an Oscar. The others, in chronological order, are: Katy Jurado for La lance brisée (1954), Salma Hayek for Frida (2002) and Adriana Barraza for Babel (2006).

By the time Lupita auditioned for 12 Years a Slave (2013) she still hadn't found an agent.

Her father, Peter Anyang' Nyong'o, a former college professor, was elected to represent Kisumu County in the Kenyan Senate in 2013.

Resides in Brooklyn, New York. (2016)

She has appeared in two films that have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: 12 Years a Slave (2013) and Black Panther (2018).

Shared the cover of Vanity Fair magazine's 2016 Hollywood issue with, Jane Fonda, Viola Davis, Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Lawrence, Rachel Weisz, Charlotte Rampling, Brie Larson, Alicia Vikander, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Helen Mirren, Diane Keaton and Saoirse Ronan. Photographed by Annie Leibovitz.

Was considered to play Nebula in Les Gardiens de la Galaxie (2014), she would later be cast as Nakia in 'Black Panther' (2018).

Was originally cast as Angela Rivera in La rage au ventre (2015), but was replaced by Naomie Harris after dropping out of the project.

Ranked as having one of the "Most Beautiful Famous Faces" by TC Candler's list of the "100 Most Beautiful Famous Faces From Around the World" for 4 consecutive years. She was ranked #17 in 2016, #11 in 2015 and #3 in 2014 and #26 in 2014.

Was the 142nd actress to receive an Academy Award; she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for 12 Years a Slave (2013) at The 86th Academy Awards on March 2, 2014.

Was seated to Will Smith's left during his outburst at the 94th Academy Awards when he slapped MC Chris Rock and then proceeded to rant after returning to his seat.

Is one of 14 actresses who won their Best Supporting Actress Oscars in a movie that also won the Best Picture Oscar (she won for 12 Years a Slave (2013)). The others are Hattie McDaniel for Autant en emporte le vent (1939), Teresa Wright for Madame Miniver (1942), Celeste Holm for Le mur invisible (1947), Mercedes McCambridge for Les fous du roi (1949), Donna Reed for Tant qu'il y aura des hommes (1953), Eva Marie Saint for Sur les quais... (1954), Rita Moreno for West Side Story (1961), Meryl Streep for Kramer contre Kramer (1979), Juliette Binoche for Le patient anglais (1996), Judi Dench for Shakespeare in Love (1998), Jennifer Connelly for Un homme d'exception (2001),Catherine Zeta-Jones for Chicago (2002) and Jamie Lee Curtis for Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022).

Nominated for the 2016 Best Leading Actress in a Play Tony Award for her performance in "The Eclipsed". She lost the award to Jessica Lange for her performance in "Long Day's Journey into Night".

Second Vogue cover appearance: October 2015.

Her aunt is the acclaimed Kenyan theatre actress Amondi Buyu.

Is frequently the subject of famed photographer duo Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott.

Her first "Vogue" magazine cover (July 2014) was photographed by Swedish photographer Mikael Jansson.

She has appeared in one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: 12 Years a Slave (2013).

Fathercis the governor of Kenya's Kisumu County.