Age: 43
female
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.
Lupita Nyong'o
Eunice Waymon
for Eunice Waymon in A Raisin in the Sun: The Lorraine Hansberry Story
Suggested by kamsismith
Lorraine Hansberry was a trailblazer whose voice resonated far beyond the stage. Born into a politically active family in Chicago, she defied societal norms and pursued her passion for writing despite facing racial discrimination and gender bias. Her seminal work, "A Raisin in the Sun," shattered barriers and became an iconic portrayal of the African American experience, earning critical acclaim and challenging the status quo. But behind the scenes, Lorraine's journey was fraught with challenges. From confronting racism in the theater world to navigating personal relationships in a turbulent era, she grappled with issues of identity, justice, and the pursuit of the American Dream. Through it all, her unwavering commitment to truth and social justice fueled her determination to make a difference. As Lorraine's star rose, so did her involvement in the civil rights movement. She marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr., fought for fair housing, and used her platform to amplify marginalized voices. Yet, fame came at a cost, testing her resolve and forcing her to confront the complexities of her own identity and beliefs.
