If you've seen the trailer for Us, Jordan Peele's follow-up to Get Out, then you probably
noticed a familiar face or two in the mix particularly the family's matriarch, Adelaide.
In case you didn't know, the name of the actress playing her is Lupita Nyong'o, and there's
good reason she looks so familiar.
Like so many big screen successes before her, Lupita Nyong'o actually got her big break
in television.
After appearing in a couple of short films such as The Roadside, she was cast in the
MTV Africa production Shuga.
A daring and explicit series set in Kenya and designed to promote safe sex, awareness,
and tolerance, Shuga has yet to air in the United States.
But some people in Hollywood saw it and it turned out that was all she needed.
In 2013, America was finally introduced to Nyong'o, and it was worth the wait.
Working alongside acting heavyweights like Michael Fassbender, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and
Sarah Paulson, Nyong'o made her big screen debut in 12 Years a Slave as the tragically
tormented Patsey.
The performance earned raves from critics and audiences alike, culminating in Nyong'o
taking home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
After winning the oscar for 12 Years a Slave, Nyong'o was instantly catapulted to worldwide
superstardom.
But her next big role wasn't in acting at all it was as the face of the French luxury
cosmetics and perfume company Lancôme, who signed Nyong'o in 2014.
In the years since, she's helped propel the brand to new heights, while becoming a global
fashion icon.
Unfortunately, Nyong'o's first big screen venture after 12 Years A Slave was less than
memorable.
A pulpy, action-packed thriller, 2014's Non-Stop starred Liam Neeson as a dude with a particular
set of skills, only this time, on an airplane.
It's a bombastic, often baffling piece of work that makes little use of its talented
cast.
That includes Nyong'o, whose brief turn as a flight attendant in transit barely registers
among all the action movie bluster.
Unlike many actors, Lupita Nyong'o did not first discover her passion for performing
in theater.
Instead, she bean as a production assistant on film productions including The Constant
Gardener, where she says she learned a lot from working with star Ralph Fiennes . That
experience convinced her to give acting a serious go, and in 2009 she enrolled in the
Yale School of Drama, where she got her first stage work.
In 2015, she finally got the chance to take the theater world by storm when she appeared
in the Broadway play Eclipsed.
Written by Nyong'o's future Black Panther co-star Danai Gurira, Eclipsed made history
by becoming the first play to premiere on Broadway with an all-black, all-female cast
and creative team.
It also earned Nyong'o a well-deserved Tony nomination for Best Actress, which she felt
wasn't just for her, but for all women of color.
"We are being heard, we are being appreciated, and we are being celebrated, which is really,
really amazing."
Just as its title implied, Non-Stop couldn't stop Nyong'o's ascendance.
At the end of 2015, she had a small but key role in the biggest domestic box office hit
in history, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Don't remember seeing her?
That's because you didn't.
Nyong'o actually did motion capture and voice work to bring the CGI character Maz Kanata
to life, helping make the mysterious tavern owner one of the more intriguing new faces
in the current Star Wars trilogy.
Directed by Mira Nair and based on an article from ESPN The Magazine, 2016's Queen of Katwe
tells the uplifting story of a ten-year-old girl from a Ugandan slum whose life changes
dramatically upon discovering the game of chess.
Nyong'o is at the center of the heartwarming drama, helping to soften the film's edges
with a warm, grounded performance as the young girl's loving mother.
Though the film wasn't a mainstream hit, it garnered acclaim from critics, with Nyong'o
again singled out for her performance.
So how does Nyong'o relax when she's not making movies?
By becoming a music icon as well!
Considering she got her start on MTV, it makes sense.
Way back in 2009, she was actually nominated for an MTV Africa Music Award in 2009 for
directing the music video for fellow Kenyan Wahu's song "The Little Things You Do."
In 2016, she showed her love of music by appearing opposite Regina Hall in a particularly epic
episode of Lip-Sync Battle.
And in 2017, she starred in the music video for "Many Faced God," a collaboration between
James Blake and hip hop mogul Jay-Z.
One of the biggest films in recent memory, both in terms of box office success and cultural
impact, was 2018's Black Panther.
Many critics and fans have praised the film for its depiction of powerful women, and at
the forefront was Nyong'o as the warrior Nakia.
The film also represented a unique moment in Nyong'o's career, bringing together past,
present, and future collaborators.
Not only did she reunite with fellow Star Wars CGI co-star Andy Serkis and her broadway
playwright Danai Gurira, it also teamed her up with future Us co-star Winston Duke.
With such talent, grace, and commitment, is it any wonder that even superheroes are awestruck
in her presence?
"Nakia"
"Hi."
"did he freeze?"
"like an antelope in headlights!"
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