Lupita Nyong'o: Citizen of the World | 266
Even the Rich
Wondery
4.3 • 11.5K Ratings
🗓️ 25 February 2025
⏱️ 52 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Born in Mexico City and raised in Kenya, Lupita Nyong’o has had what you could call an unconventional life. After experiencing serious political unrest in Nairobi at a very young age, Lupita packs her bags and heads to the Big Apple to pursue her dreams of becoming an actor. Sure, she’s got the skills to make it. But a lot of the time and talent is just not enough. And what Lupita struggles with in Hollywood goes far beyond the trials of most actors-for-hire trying to score their next gig. Lupita wages a far more intense and deeply personal battle - how to maintain her own identity in an industry that wants to put her in a box.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Wonderry Plus subscribers can binge the newest season of Even the Rich before anyone else. |
| 0:04.4 | Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. |
| 0:09.8 | Okay, Aresha, where do you consider your home to be? |
| 0:17.8 | Like, is it a certain city, the house you grew up in, wherever you're living at the |
| 0:22.0 | moment? Wherever my heart is. Okay. This is not the saying, home is where the heart is? |
| 0:26.9 | That is the saying. I consider a lot of places my home. I can't make a decision, so I have a lot of |
| 0:31.2 | homes. Well, today's subject was born in Mexico, raised in Kenya, and eventually moved to America to study acting. |
| 0:39.3 | She speaks four languages fluently, and although she may consider Kenya home, as her mother explains |
| 0:44.7 | to her, she truly is a citizen of the world. Some might even call her otherworldly. |
| 0:51.3 | We're talking about Oscar-winning actress, author, and podcaster, Lupita Nyungo. |
| 1:03.0 | It's Sunday, March 2nd, 2014, and 31-year-old Lupita Nyungo looks radiant in her light blue |
| 1:09.7 | prodded dress as she sits nervously in the Dolby |
| 1:12.0 | theater. Up on stage, actor Christoph Waltz holds an envelope which contains the name of the Oscar |
| 1:17.7 | winner for best supporting actress. The silent prayer running through Lupea's mind is, |
| 1:22.9 | please say Lupita, please say Lupita. Sure, winning an Oscar for her first ever film role would be amazing and a huge accomplishment. |
| 1:31.3 | But for Lupita, it goes way beyond that. |
| 1:34.3 | For her, the stakes are enormous. |
| 1:36.9 | Her visa is about to expire. |
| 1:39.0 | But if she wins an Oscar tonight, she'll qualify for an 01B visa. |
| 1:43.6 | These special visas are given to people recognized for a high level of skill in the arts. |
| 1:47.9 | So basically snagging that Oscar means she can stay in the U.S. |
| 1:52.0 | And the Oscar goes to Lupita Nyonga. |
... |
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