Lupita Nyong'o Wiki: Age, Net Worth & Top Facts To Know

Lupita Nyong'o is a fascinating 34-year-old actress who has captivated audiences everywhere. She is a Kenyan-Mexican actress who was born in Mexico to Kenyan parents, and then she was raised in Kenya. At the time of her birth, her parents were in political exile from Kenya. They were able to return to Kenya during Lupita's childhood and her father later became part of the country's senate. Her mother works at the Africa Cancer Foundation. She attended college in the United States at Hampshire University where she earned a bachelor's degree in film and theater studies. She received her master's degree from the Yale school of drama in 2012.

Lupita Nyong'o discovered her passion for acting after being cast in the leading role in a production of "Romeo and Juliet." She lived in Kenya after college. She directed, edited, and produced a documentary following people in Kenya who are albino. She then worked on a television show called "Shuga," which was created by MTV/UNICEF to use storytelling as a tool to spread awareness of HIV and safe sex. Nyong'o moved back to America to pursue her master's degree. A few weeks before graduating with her master's, she learned that she had earned a part in Steve McQueen's drama "12 Years a Slave." The movie was produced by Brad Pitt and is based on a 19th-century narrative written by Solomon Northup. The story follows the tale of a northern-based free African American man who is kidnapped and taken to the south to be sold into slavery. Nyong'o plays the role of Patsey, who is a fellow slave with Northup. She befriends the shocked and newly enslaved man. She is terribly abused by the plantation master and his wife. "Twelve Years a Slave" won three Oscars. Nyong'o won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. The movie also won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film grossed over 187 million dollars on a 22 million dollar budget.

Lupita Nyong'o continues to wow crowds with one outstanding performance after another. "12 Years a Slave" quickly catapulted the young actress to stardom. Where can she go from the top? Even higher. After the release of "12 Years a Slave" and her following Oscar win in 2013, Nyong'o landed a role in the mystery action-thriller, "Non-Stop." The movie was well-received and Nyong'o portrayed a flight attendant named Gwen Lloyd. With a budget of 50 million dollars, the film grossed over 222 million dollars worldwide. The Oscar winner moved on to even bigger projects in 2015. She appeared in the 2015 Star Wars movie, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" directed by J.J. Abrams. She brought to life her character, Maz Kanata. She plays the operator of a cantina on the forest planet, Takodana. Her character was based on Abrams' high school English teacher, Rose Gilbert. Kanata has lived over one-thousand years at this little place on a peaceful planet. Nyong'o brings an authenticity to the character that is rarely found in wild new worlds, where so much of the spectacle is unbelievable. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" was the fastest film to gross 1 billion dollars, which it did in just 12 days. The film made 529 million just during its opening weekend.

2015 was a big year for the brightest shining star in Hollywood after "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" was such a huge success. 2016 brought even more excitement. In the live-action remake of "The Jungle Book," Nyong'o was cast as Raksha, a female Indian wolf. While taking care of her new cubs, she discovers a young human child in the forest. She takes him under her wing and adopts him as her own cub. She names the young "cub" Mowgli, which means "frog," because he was hairless. Mowgli grows to think of Raksha as his mother because she raises and protects him. Mowgli is the main character of the film. He faces obstacles, adventures, and personal growth over the course of this silly and heart-warming film. "The Jungle Book" used the latest-and-greatest technology to bring the film to life. The animal characters were entirely computer animated. Over 70 animals that are native to India (where the story takes place) were featured in the film. Also at the end of the film, the exact same book that opened the 1967 version of the movie was used. A nice nod to past inspirations. "The Jungle Book" grossed over 900 million dollars worldwide, making it the third Disney movie to do so in 2016 after "Zootopia," and "Captain America: Civil War."

Lupita Nyong'o managed to show off her stuff once more in 2016 with the movie "Queen of Katwe." It is a biographical drama sports film, which follows a Ugandan girl named Phiona Mutesi who lives in a slum in Katwe. After learning to play chess, Phiona wins victories at the World Chess Olympiads and becomes a Woman Candidate Master. Phiona faces obstacles among her success, as she learns about life outside of the slum of Katwe. She continues to work hard and pursue her dreams in order to help herself and her family out of poverty. In "Queen of Katwe," Nyong'o portrays Nakku Harriet, the mother of Phiona Matesi. The film was adapted from an ESPN article and then a book by Tim Crothers. "Queen of Katwe" grossed over 9 million dollars worldwide, and was met with positive reviews.

On December 15th of this year, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" will be released. Once again, Lupita Nyong'o will portray Maz Kanata, a long time friend of Han Solo and Chewbaca. The film is expected to be as successful as the previous films. Estimated potential gross of the film is over 1 billion dollars. In 2018, Lupita Nyong'o will be in the long-anticipated superhero film, "Black Panther." It takes place in the Marvel Universe, and is based on the Marvel character of the same name, which has been featured in comics since 1966. This is the first superhero movie which will feature an almost entirely African American cast, a huge step forward for the superhero movie industry, and for Hollywood in general. Lupita Nyong'o will play the character of Nakia, the former lover of Black Panther/ T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman). She is an undercover operative for the all-female undercover agent group, Dora Milaje. The group of women serves as Black Panter's/ T'Challa's bodyguards. "Black Panther" is expected to do will in theaters. Marvel has continuously put out hit superhero movies. Fans are excited for this new cast of characters. The movie is expected gross up to 800 million dollars,

This impressive actress has not yet seen the height of her success, as her journey is just beginning. Expect to hear even more from Lupita Nyong'o as the actress continues to take on Hollywood. At a height of 5'5" and an age of 34, Lupita Nyong'o has a beauty that cannot be rivaled. There was recently some hair drama after Lupita Nyong'o did a cover shoot for Grazia, a magazine. The hair drama came after the magazine was released. The photographer for the cover edited out the hair that was tucked behind her neck. This raised a lot of concerns, as there was questioning such as, "what is wrong with my hair?" Lupita Nyong'o expressed concern that perhaps the editor was going for a more "eurocentric" idea of what beauty means, instead of accepting as she was, hair and all. She handled the issue in a dignified fashion, using her platform to voice concerns about beauty ideals.

Lupita Nyong'o has reached the height of luxury. With a net worth of 500,000 dollars, she is just at the beginning of this rollercoaster that is sure to bring her all of the fame and fortune anyone could ever want. Her net worth will just keep getting higher, and soon she'll be in the ranks of actresses like Emma Stone and Jennifer Aniston. Emma Stone has a net worth of 18 million dollars, and was the highest paid actress this year, earning over 26 million dollars. Jennifer Anniston earned 25 million dollars this year, and has a net worth of 200 million dollars. Lupita Nyong'o lives in Brooklyn, New York, a hot spot for the actors who want a less flashy life than the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. In a timely fashion, Lupita has gone from zero to sixty. She will soar to a height that no one can reach, and she will just keep soaring.

Aside from having a killer fashion sense, Lupita Nyong'o also has a huge heart. She has used her platform to create a lot of good. In June 2015, Nyong'o traveled to Kenya to announce her intention to fight globally with the internation conservation organization, WildAid. WildAid announced Nyong'o as their Global Elephant Ambassador. She also expresses intentions to promote awareness of women's issues, acting and the arts in Kenya. Lupita Nyong'o is also involved with an organization called Mother Health International. The organization aims to assist mothers and children in Uganda by creating birthing centers. She feels a responsibility to assist in such an important issue that needs more attention. In 2016 she launched an anti-poaching campaign with WildAid.

Lupita Nyong'o was one of the women who spoke out against the sexual harassment of Hollywood big shot, Harvey Weinstein. The actress had two encounters with the sexual predator. Once, he offered her a full-body massage. The second time, he invited her to his hotel room. Both times she declined, and refused to work with him in the future. She has stated that she would prefer to work with woman directors or male directors who have not abused their power and are supportive of feminist issues.