Actress Lupita Nyongo

Lupita Nyong’o wouldn’t have

become an actress without her parents’ support.

The Black Panther star credits her mother for

“nurturing her artistic spirit”, as she admits she wouldn’t have made

it as an actress without her support as there weren’t facilities in her

hometown of Nairobi, Kenya, like there is in America.

Speaking at the school’s

annual Mask Ball, she said: “I was thinking about the Harlem School of

Arts and what it does for children and its students, and I didn’t have an

institution where I’m in from in Nairobi, Kenya. And so, the only way my interest

in the arts thrived was because I had parents who valued those interests. And

my mother, in particular, she really nurtured my artistic spirit. She drove to

rehearsals after a long day at work and waited in the car for five or so hours

… and she never complained.”

While her mother, Dorothy

Nyong’o, added as they jointly collected the Visionary Lineage Award: “I

really didn’t do much. I looked for opportunities to nurture that. My job was

really to facilitate it, and I’d like to encourage parents to do it.

“Sometimes we make the

mistake of trying to make our children what we think we want. I’m proud of her.

She makes me shine.”