Lupita Nyong'o reveals crying herself to sleep after ditching Kenyan accent for Hollywood

Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o recently opened up about the emotional challenges she faced in adjusting her Kenyan accent to fit into Hollywood.

Speaking on the What Now? with Trevor Noah podcast, Nyong’o shared how, as a Kenyan, losing her accent felt like losing a part of herself.

Nyong’o, known for her role in 12 Years a Slave, revealed that she first confronted her accent at Yale School of Drama.

“The first permission I gave myself to change my accent was going to drama school,” she explained, adding that she wanted to better understand her skills, especially with accents.

“I didn’t know how to sound any other way than myself… But it was full of heartbreak and grief,” she said.

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She confessed to often feeling “betrayed” by her new sound, crying herself to sleep many nights as she adjusted to sounding American.

Nyong’o moved to the U.S. over two decades ago, first attending Hampshire College and later enrolling in drama school.

She had previously been determined to maintain her Kenyan accent but changed her approach at Yale, feeling pressured to adopt an American accent.

“I thought it was the only way I could have a career in acting,” she said, as she saw few African voices represented in Hollywood at the time.

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Her commitment to her American accent was tested when a casting director expressed surprise at her lack of an accent during an audition.

While she was glad to fit in, the moment also hurt. “I had gotten rid of a part of myself, and that hurt,” she admitted.

After her big break in 12 Years a Slave, Nyong’o decided she wouldn’t suppress her natural voice anymore. She informed her team, saying, “From tomorrow, I’m going back to my original accent. I want to send a message that being African is enough.”

Recalling the moment, she added, “My agents had never even heard me speak in a Kenyan accent before.”

Today, she embraces her Kenyan accent as part of her unique identity. “An accent, like skin or hair, can change over time,” she reflected, saying that now her voice is “just Lupita.”