Lupita Nyong’o Resolves To Kenyan Accent Use For Comfortability
Lupita Nyong’o, an Oscar-winning Kenyan actress, has spoken for the first time about her decision to return to her native Kenyan accent after years of masking it in order to succeed in Hollywood.
During the first episode of her new podcast ‘Mind Your Own’, the actress revealed that she has always had a complicated relationship with her voice.
“In order to create this podcast, I had to get very comfortable with my voice,” Lupita admitted.
Because there were few actors with a Kenyan accent in the industry, she made a deal with herself to always sound American in order to land more roles in Hollywood.
However, on the eve of the press tour for her first Oscar-winning film, ’12 Years a Slave,’ Lupita said she called her publicists and told them she wanted to start using her original accent to send a message that being African was enough.
“They had never heard me speak in my Kenyan accent,” Lupita recalled.
She even called her mother, Dorothy Nyong’o, about the decision, who thankfully encouraged her to embrace her roots, telling her that using her accent would be a reflection of her life experiences.
“That gave me solace, that an accent comes to being from your life. And just like skin and hair, it can change and it’s okay,” Lupita affirmed.
Lupita was born in Mexico, but her family relocated to Kenya when she was one, and she spent the majority of her childhood in Nairobi before returning to Mexico at the age of 17.
In Kenya, she is best known for her role in MTV’s Shuga, which aired in 2009, years before she stunned the world with her acting abilities as Patsey in the film ’12 Years a Slave.’
During her 2014 Oscars speech, Lupita said, “No matter where you come from, your dreams are valid.”
These words continue to resonate with not only Kenyans, but Africans all over the world who may believe they are not good enough, particularly because of their accents.
Lupita’s decision to retain her Kenyan accent has resulted in African roles in blockbuster films such as ‘Blank Panther’ and ‘Queen of Katwe.’
As for her accent, Lupita simply says, “I guess this accent is called Lupita! I don’t know who could claim it but me.”
Lupita Nyong’o Resolves To Kenyan Accent Use For Comfortability
