Lupita Nyong'o may have an Oscar, but the actress, known for her
beakout role in 12 Years a Slave, still likes to take a piece of home with
her wherever she goes.
"My mommy is here. My number one cheerleader," Nyong'o told the
crowd at the Massachusetts Conference for Women in Boston on
Thursday, where she gave one of the keynote speeches.
The Kenyan-American actress got emotional during her speech and started
to cry while discussing her childhood dreams of becoming an actress –
though she lived in an African country that only had one TV channel.
"What I wanted more than anything was to make believe for a living," said
an emotional Nyong'o, who wore a sleek, white suit. "When I watched The
Color Purple and watched Oprah and Whoopi Goldberg, a seed was
planted in my heart to becoming an actor, but I dared not water it in
public."
Despite her desire to take the stage, acting wasn't a "viable career path"
for a young women growing up in Nairobi, Kenya, in the '80s.
"Nobody I knew around me was acting for a living. In school, it wasn't one
of the professions you learned about," said Nyong'o. "It didn’t help that we
only had one TV station and it aired very boring programming as a child."
It was upon her arrival to the Yale School of Drama that Nyong'o
embraced her dreams, and shortly before graduation, she was offered the
role of Patsy in 12 Years a Slave.
But now that she's found acclaim for her
acting chops, Nyong'o wants to help other women follow their dreams.
"We continue to fight for equality, for justice, for freedom, for
compassion and we achieve the most when we are awakened and
responsive to the desires of our individual hearts," said Nyong'o, who can
next be seen in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. "It is then we can be part
of a whole and share our tools to fulfill the bigger picture of a better
tomorrow."
Source:People.com
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