Hollywood icon Lupita Nyong’o has never been one to shy away from her roots. In a candid first episode of her new podcast Mind Your Own, the Kenyan-Mexican actress revealed the complex relationship she’s had with her accent and identity throughout her career. Despite her international success, Lupita’s journey has been marked by the struggle to fit in — and later, the realization that standing out was her true power.
Born in Mexico City to Kenyan parents and raised in Kenya, Lupita moved to the United States to pursue acting, attending Hampshire College and later the prestigious Yale School of Drama. She recalls the initial internal conflict she faced as she navigated her identity in a predominantly Western space. “I made a pact with myself to learn how to sound American,” she shared on her podcast, explaining how she believed adopting an American accent was the key to securing acting roles. “I didn’t know many actors with Kenyan accents on TV or in movies.”
Lupita’s determination led her to rigorously train her voice, dedicating days to mastering an American accent. Yet, while this opened doors in Hollywood, the toll on her personal sense of identity was profound. After receiving a compliment from a casting director for “not having an accent,” Lupita felt conflicted. “I was elated and crushed at the same time. I had succeeded in erasing a part of myself.”
This realization became a pivotal moment for Lupita. In 2014, just before promoting 12 Years a Slave—a film that would earn her an Oscar—she made a life-changing decision. “I called my publicist and told them I was going back to my original accent,” she recalled. For the first time, Lupita embraced her Kenyan roots publicly, signaling to herself and the world that being African was more than enough.
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Her mother’s support was a key pillar during this transformative period. “She told me, ‘Your accent is representative of your life experience.’ That gave me comfort. An accent, like skin and hair, can change. And that’s okay,” Lupita reflected. It was a reminder that accents, like identity, are fluid and should not be a source of shame but pride.
Now, through her podcast Mind Your Own, Lupita is using her voice — both literally and figuratively — to highlight the experiences of other Africans navigating multiple worlds. “I was homesick,” she admitted. “I wanted to hear stories from other Africans, people like me who have lived in different places but still hold their heritage close.”
