These days I find myself watching a lot of TV.Not necessarily because of the eye-catching programs or for lack of what to do at that moment,these days you would be amazed at the amount of untapped knowledge that could be found in that electrical box.
This week I was watching the Oscars on the E channel and I saw someone very beautiful-beautiful not because of her gorgeous sky blue dress(which according to her reminds her of her native Kenya),beautiful not because of her great smile and incredible gait;her beauty is really inexplicable(even though she's very flat-chested),but beautiful because she is Lupita Nyong'o!
Nyong'o was born in Mexico City, Mexico to Dorothy and Peter Anyang' Nyong'o, a college professor turned politician in Kenya.It is a Luo tradition to name a child after the events of the day, so her parents gave her a Mexican name, Lupita (a diminutive of Our Lady of Guadalupe).She is of Luo descent on both sides of her family, and is the second of six children.Nyong'o identifies as Mexican-Kenyan.Her father was the former Minister for Medical Services in the Kenyan government. At the time of Lupita's birth, he was a visiting lecturer in political science at El Colegio de México in Mexico City and her family had been living in Mexico for three years.
Nyong'o moved back to Kenya with her parents when she was less than one year old,when her father was appointed a professor at the University of Nairobi.She grew up primarily in Kenya, and describes her upbringing as "middle class, suburban".At age sixteen, her parents sent her back to Mexico for seven months to learn Spanish.During those seven months, Nyong'o lived in Taxco, Guerrero, and took classes at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México's Learning Center for Foreigners.
Nyong'o landed her breakout role when she was cast in 12 Years a Slave immediately before graduating from Yale with an MFA in 2012.The film was released in 2013 to great critical acclaim. Nyong'o received rave reviews for her performance and was nominated for several awards including a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and two Screen Actors Guild Awards including Best Supporting Actress, which she won.On March 2, 2014,she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the sixth black actress to win the award, the first African actress to win the award, the first Mexican actress to win the award, and the first Kenyan to win an Oscar.She also became the fifteenth actress to win an Oscar for their debut performance in a feature film.
Nyong'o currently resides in Brooklyn. She is fluent in her native Luo, English, Swahili and Spanish.On February 27, 2014, at the Essence Black Women In Hollywood luncheon in Beverly Hills, Lupita gave a speech on black beauty. Lupita talked about a letter she received from a young fan who stated she was unhappy with herself until she saw the actress on the cover of a magazine. In her speech Lupita talked about the insecurities she had about herself as a teenager; growing up as a dark skinned black girl, women that looked like her were barely portrayed in the media and when they were, they were not deemed as being beautiful. She said, her views about herself changed when she saw South Sudanese supermodel Alek Wek become successful.
"When I saw Alek I inadvertently saw a reflection of myself that I could not deny,” she added. “Now, I had a spring in my step because I felt more seen, more appreciated by the far away gatekeepers of beauty".
Need I say more?.With all the bleaching,fakeness and mediocrity flying around in Nollywood,I say it would take something really special for any of our own to match Lupita's feat...Oh well...what do I know?.
Chuks Asoegwu (07011918203). Find him on twitter
No comments:
Post a Comment