African actresses have been successfulfollowing in the footsteps of their brothers on the enviable Hollywood stage. Some of them have even been nominated for Academy Awards and won other film and television awards. Below is a list of some names that have made waves in the American film industry:
1. Lupita Nyong’o
She is the hottest actress in Hollywood right now after her breakthrough supporting role in ‘Twelve Years a Slave’ which starred Chiwetel Ejiofor. Lupita is the daughter of a prominent Kenyan politician and senator, Professor Anyang ‘Nyong’o. She was born when her parents were politically displaced in Mexico. She spent most of her life between Mexico, Kenya and the USA. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, she has starred in The Constant Gardener, The Namesake and MNet TV’s Shuga. She won the 2013 New Hollywood Award for her role in 12 Years a Slave. She was born in 1983.
2. Charlize Theron
Ms. Theron is a South African, born in Benoni, near Johannesburg. She started out as a dancer and at 16 won a contract as a model for a year in Italy. She later moved to New York and then to Los Angeles. A chance meeting with a casting agent took place when she was involved in a shouting exchange with a cashier who had refused to cash her check. She has appeared on The Devil’s Advocate, North Country, Cider House Rules, Mighty Joe Young, Monster, and Prometheus, among others. She won a Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, Silver Bear, and Academy Award for her role in Monster.
3. Benu Mabhena
Very few Zimbabweans know that Ms. Mabhena is from the country. Her family has both Ndebele and Zulu blood. His family traveled the world in search of political asylum, spending several years in Botswana, the UK, Mozambique, Lesotho, South Africa and a few years in their native Zimbabwe before finally settling in the United States. She was Djimon Hounsou’s wife in Blood Diamond. Other shows include Life on the Edge: A Global Crisis, Jazz Man and Night Walkers.
4.Chipo Chung
It’s hard to guess that this top act is of African heritage. Although born in Tanzania, she has Chinese-Zimbabwean parents. She grew up in Zimbabwe and Mozambique and spent several years as a refugee in the three countries. She is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. In addition to numerous TV shows, her well-known acts can be seen in the films “Sunshine”, “In the Loop”, “Proof” and “360”. She was born in 1977.
5. Liya Kebede
Kebede was born in Ethiopia and was one of the top earners in the 2007 Forbes list. She first moved to France before moving to New York. Her famous acts are in the films “Lord of War”, “The Best Offer”, “Desert Flower”, “Capital” and “The Good Shepherd”. She is also featured in the 2014 films “The Being Experience” and “419”.
6. Rachel Mwanza
Rachel Mwanza is a rising star in Hollywood despite her childless background due to the situation in the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo. Born in 1997, the actress has already received awards at the Berlin Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival, the Vancouver Film Critics Circle and the Canadian Screen Award for her role in Rebelle: War Witch, which was filmed and released in 2012 “Kinshasa Kids”. Their education is now funded by Rebelle producers.
7. Leleti Khumalo
Ms. Khumalo is best known for her starring role in the 1992 film Sarafina. Born in Durban, South Africa, the actor has appeared in other popular films such as ‘Invictus’, ‘Yesterday’ and ‘Hotel Rwanda’ as well as several musicals and television series. She was born in 1970.
8. Carmen Elizabeth Ejogo
Although she is a British citizen, her father is from Nigeria while her mother is Scottish. She started acting in the UK and later moved to the US to take the stage alongside big names like Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence. Her popular acts include in the movies Metro, Perfume, Away We Go, Pride and Glory, The Brave One, The Avengers and Alex Cross. She has also acted in numerous TV productions such as Zero Hour, Kidnapped, Law & Order and Boycott.
9. Danai Gurira
Danai Gurira is the daughter of a Zimbabwean chemistry lecturer. She was born in Iowa, where her father taught at Grinnell College. She is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Her popular roles are “The Visitor”, “The Walking Dead”, “Ghost Town”, “My Soul to Take” and “Restless City”. She has also acted in numerous TV series including Law and Order, Lie to Me and The American Experience.
10. Sophie Okonedo
Sophie Okonedo even has British citizenship, although she is the daughter of a Nigerian father and a Jewish mother. Born in 1968, the artist attended the Royal Academy of Art and has appeared in several films since her debut in 1991’s Young Soul Rebels. She was nominated for several awards for her role in Hotel Rwanda. Other acts include roles in Skin, After Earth, The Secret Life of Bees, Martian Child, Ace Ventura 2: When Nature Calls. TV series include Tsunami: The Aftermath, Sinbad, Criminal Justice, and For Better or For Worse, among others. She was honored with an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2010 by Queen Elizabeth.
