Faith Nyasuguta
Lupita Nyong’o, the Oscar-winning actress, recently opened up about her journey towards accepting her identity and reclaiming her Kenyan accent after years of masking it to fit into Hollywood. Speaking on the debut episode of her new podcast, Mind Your Own, Lupita reflected on the “complicated relationship” she had with her voice and the steps she took to embrace her heritage fully.
Born in Mexico City to Kenyan parents and raised in Kenya from the age of three, Lupita identifies as a Kenyan-Mexican. She speaks Spanish fluently and has lived in the United States for over two decades. However, despite her global upbringing, Lupita revealed that producing her podcast required her to become comfortable with her own voice.
While she confidently embraced her East African accent during her time at Hampshire College in Massachusetts, Lupita recalled how things changed when she joined Yale School of Drama. Determined to build a successful career in acting, she felt pressured to adopt an American accent, believing that her Kenyan voice had no place in Hollywood.
“I made a pact with myself that I would learn to sound American, thinking it would guarantee me a career,” she explained. Lupita spent countless hours in voice lessons, working diligently to perfect the accent. Her efforts paid off when a casting director once praised her for not having an accent. Yet, the compliment left her conflicted. “I was elated, but also crushed because I realized I had stripped away a part of myself.”
The turning point came in 2014, just before Lupita embarked on a press tour for 12 Years a Slave, the film that earned her an Academy Award. She made a bold decision to return to her original Kenyan accent, calling her publicist to share the news. “I told them, ‘From tomorrow, I’m going to speak in my Kenyan accent. I want to send a message that being African is enough.'”
Her decision was met with support from her mother, who reminded her that an accent is part of one’s life experience, just like skin and hair. Lupita found comfort in this, realizing that it’s okay for her voice to evolve over time.
Since then, Lupita’s voice has become beloved by fans worldwide, and now she’s using her platform to uplift other African voices through her podcast. In Mind Your Own, she aims to highlight the personal stories of Africans navigating multiple worlds, much like herself.
“I created Mind Your Own because I was homesick and wanted to hear stories from Africans who feel at home in more than one place,” Lupita shared on Instagram. “It’s for anyone who has ever felt like an outsider, exploring what it really means to belong.”
With her podcast, Lupita hopes to give listeners insight into the diverse and unique experiences that shape modern African identities.
RELATED:
