Actress at the Heart of Odyssey Controversy was Born in Mexico

The Odyssey movie, by Christopher Nolan, is scheduled to be released on July 17th, and there’s a lot of buzz about it.

Left: Odyssey movie poster. Source: IMP Awards
Right: Odyssey Producer/Screenwriter/Director Christopher Nolan. Source: Ralph_PH

One of the controversial issues is the casting of a black actress, Lupita Nyong’o, as Helen of Troy, a traditional white character.

Did you know that Lupita Nyong’o was actually born in Mexico, and has Mexican citizenship? I guess the name “Lupita” should have tipped us off, right?

Lupita Nyong’o was born in 1983 in Mexico City. Her father, Anyang’ Nyong’o, was a politician from Kenya, who was then a visiting professor in Mexico. Her mother is Dorothy Ogada Buyu. both her parents were of the Luo ethnicity, the same tribe to which belonged Barack Obama Sr., father of the U.S. president Barack Obama Jr.

Lupita Amondi Nyong’o Buyu is the way to write her name in Spanish style, with the two surnames.

The future actress was named “Lupita” because they were living in Mexico, though they soon moved back to Kenya. However, when Lupita was 16, she was sent back to Mexico for 7 months (to Taxco, Guerrero), to learn Spanish.

Lupita Nyong’o identifies as Kenyan-Mexican. In 2024 she also became a U.S. citizen, just in time to vote for Kamala Harris.

So she is a citizen of Kenya, Mexico and the United States.

In the Odyssey movie, Lupita Nyong’o is portraying both Helen of Troy and Helen’s half-sister Clytemnestra.

In an interview with Elle magazine, the actress said that she accepted the role of Helen of Troy
“I really had no idea what The Odyssey was. I was like, ‘Oh, snap, I don’t know the first thing about this.’ So it was a crash course. I picked up the books and read them immediately. I have this film to thank for my Greek mythological education.”