Cast & creator
Lupita Nyong'o
Best known for Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Lupita Amondi Nyong'o (born 1 March 1983) is a Kenyan-Mexican actress and author. She began her career in Hollywood as a production assistant. In 2008, she made her acting debut with the short film East River and subsequently returned to Kenya to star in the television series Shuga (2009–2012). In 2009, she wrote, produced and directed the documentary In My Genes. She then pursued a master's degree in acting from the Yale School of Drama. She had her first feature film role as Patsey in 12 Years a Slave (2013), for which she received critical acclaim and won several awards, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She became the first Kenyan and Mexican actress to win an Academy Award. She made her Broadway debut as a teenage orphan in the play Eclipsed (2015), for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She went on to perform a motion capture role as Maz Kanata in the Star Wars sequel trilogy (2015–2019) and a lead voice role as Raksha in The Jungle Book (2016). Her career progressed with her role as Nakia in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Black Panther (2018) and her starring role in Jordan Peele's critically acclaimed horror film Us (2019). In addition to acting, she supports historic preservation. She is vocal about preventing sexual harassment and working for women's and animal rights. In 2014, she was named the most beautiful woman by People. She has also written a children's book named Sulwe (2019), which became a number-one New York Times Best-Seller. Also in 2019, she narrated the Discovery Channel docu-series Serengeti, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Narrator. She was named among Africa's "50 Most Powerful Women" by Forbes in 2020. Description above is from the Wikipedia article Lupita Nyong'o, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Also known as: Lupita Amondi Nyong'o
46
film credits
38
television credits
76
1952–2026 · acting roles
6.0
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (84)
Showing 84 of 84 credits
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Self - Guest
2009
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Self - Guest
2014
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Self - Guest
2015
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Self - Guest
2014
The Daily Show
Self - Guest
1996
Tagesschau
Self
1952
The Odyssey
Helen / Clytemnestra
2026
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Self
2019
Late Show with David Letterman
Self - Guest
1993
Conan
Self - Guest
2010
The View
Self
1997
Sesame Street
Self
1969
Jeopardy!
Self - Clue Presenter
1984
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self - Guest
2003
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
Self - Guest
1988
Sherri
Self - Guest
2022
Great Performances
Viola
1971
Tony Awards
Self - Presenter
1956
Hot Ones
Self
2015
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Self
2014
The Wild Robot
Roz / Rummage (voice)
2024
Big Mouth
Asha (voice)
2017
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
Self
2015
Black Panther
Nakia
2018
Finding Your Roots
Self
2012
Lip Sync Battle
Self
2015
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Maz Kanata
2017
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Nakia
2022
The Oscars
Self
1953
Marvel Studios Legends
Nakia (archive footage) (uncredited)
2021
Desus & Mero
Self - Illustrious Guest
2019
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Maz Kanata
2015
The Jungle Book
Raksha (voice)
2016
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Maz Kanata
2019
Human Resources
Shame Wizard Asha (voice)
2022
Entertainment Tonight
Self
1981
12 Years a Slave
Patsey
2013
Star Wars: Forces of Destiny
Maz Kanata (voice)
2017
Billy on the Street
Self
2011
A Quiet Place: Day One
Samira
2024
Us
Adelaide Wilson / Red
2019
Non-Stop
Gwen
2014
Voices Rising: The Music of Wakanda Forever
Self - Actress
2023Voices Rising: The Music of Wakanda Forever
Thanks
2023
The 355
Khadijah Adiyeme
2022
Queen of Katwe
Nakku Harriet
2016
Little Monsters
Miss Caroline
2019
Who Are You, Charlie Brown?
Self - Narrator (voice)
2021
Bookmarks: Celebrating Black Voices
2020
Nature Is Speaking
Flower
2015
Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Self
2023
2 Dope Queens
Self
2018
Serengeti
Narrator (voice)
2019
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
Self (archive footage)
2020
Twelfth Night
Viola
2025
Disney 100: A Century of Dreams – A Special Edition of 20/20
Self
2023
One World: Together at Home
Self
2020
Black Is King
2020
2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Self
2021
Shuga
Ayira
2009
Star Wars: Greatest Moments
Self
2015
August 28: A Day in the Life of a People
Self
2017
Disneyland 60: The Wonderful World of Disney
Self
2016
Secrets of the Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey
Self
2016
Super Sema
Sema
2021
Goodbye Julia
Executive Producer
2023
This Is My Africa
Self
2008
Beyoncé Presents: Making The Gift
Self
2019East River
2009Lunik Heist
Warrior Women with Lupita Nyong'o
Host
2019
Miss Universe
Miss Universe
Producer
My Africa
Narrator (voice)
2018
Jack (Part 1)
Giant
2018
20/20 Presents Black Panther: In Search of Wakanda
Self
2022Strawweight
Worlds Beyond Earth
Narrator (voice)
2020
In My Genes
Director
2009In My Genes
Executive Producer
2009In My Genes
Editor
2009In My Genes
Publicist
2009In My Genes
Sound Editor
2009