Thursday, February 20, 2014
Immigrant of the Day: Lupita Nyong'o (Kenya/Mexico)
Lupita Nyong'o is an actress who made her American film debut in 12 Years a Slave (2013) as Patsey. For that role, Nyong'o won the Screen Actors Guild and Critics' Choice Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and was nominated for the Golden Globe, BAFTA and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Nyong'o was born in Mexico City to Dorothy and Peter Anyang' Nyong'o, a politician in Kenya. It is a Luo tradition to name a child after the events of the day, so her parents named her Lupita (a diminutive of "Guadalupe"). Her father was the former Kenyan Minister for Medical Services. At the time of Lupita's birth, he was a visiting lecturer in political science at El Colegio de Mexico, and her family had been living in Mexico for three years. Her father was in political exile for his pro-democracy activities that challenged the Kenyan government.
Nyong'o moved back to Kenya with her parents when she was less than one year old. She grew up primarily in Kenya but attended college in the United States (Hampshire College and Yale).
Nyong'o currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.
KJ
https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2014/02/immigrant-of-the-day-lupita-nyongo-kenyamexico.html
