And the politician's daughter fully honoured her promise to self. Narrating the joy, she experienced when she met with a casting director, and they were taken aback by the fact that she didn't sound Kenyan at all Lupita classified the moment as bittersweet.
“[I remember] my very first meeting with a casting director and her asking me about where I was from, and I said, ‘Kenya,’ and she said, ‘Oh my goodness, you don’t have an accent.’ And I was at once so elated and also so crushed — I had ridden myself of myself, kind of,” she candidly shared.
However, after years of whitewashing herself and masking her Kenyan accent Miss Nyong'o decided to revert to her authentic self. Highlighting the decision to eventually drop the fake American accent she'd perfected and actively start embracing her home accent.
Ultimately, before her 12 Years a Slave tour she decided to return to her natural speaking voice.
“At the end of the day, I never wanted to lose my authenticity. [Before I started press for 12 Years a Slave], I called my reps, and we had a conference call, and I said, ‘I’ve decided that from tomorrow I am going to return to my original accent. I want to send a message that being an African is enough.’ They had never heard me speak in a Kenyan accent,” she said.
Finishing up Lupita shared she'd consulted her mother before making the final decision.
“I spoke to my mom, and she said, ‘Your accent is representative of your life experience.’ That gave me solace, that an accent comes to being from your life and accent — just like skin and hair — it can change, and it’s OK. I guess this accent is called Lupita; I don’t know who could claim it but me,” the multi-award-winning actress
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