Catching Up with Lupita Nyong'o No 1 : De Beers, Chanel, Selema Masekela, Meeting Alek Wek
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via Lupita Nyong’o IG
Date of Birth: March 1, 1983
Place of Birth: Mexico City, Mexico
Nationality: Kenyan-Mexican
Instagran: Lupita Nyong’o
Occupation: Actor, Producer, Author, Activist
Update January 2024: After sharing the news that Lupita had found her man, the star took to Instagram in late October, writing "At this moment, it is necessary for me to share a personal truth and publicly dissociate myself from someone I can no longer trust." C’est tout!
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On March 2, 2014 rising star Lupita Nyong’o stepped onto the stage of the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles to accept her first Oscar, Best Supporting Actress for "12 Years a Slave". Since then Lupita Nyong'o has captivated the hearts of audiences worldwide with her extraordinary acting abilities and unwavering dedication to telling compelling stories.
As part of Anne of Carversville’s ongoing years-long renewal of our deep, pre 2020 archives, this ‘Catching Up With . . . ‘ series will take people we love and issues we care about into the ‘now’ world.
In the case of these opening images, it’s clear that Lupita Nyong’o is an ambassador for both De Beers and also Chanel. She also has a relationship with Lancome, not discussed today. Let’s dig deeper into De Beers and Chanel.
De Beers Historic Agreement with Botswana
In AOC’s July 3, 2023 update on Lupita and De Beers, the headline didn’t belong to the Mexico-born, Kenya-raised girl hero girl.
Our focus was the renewal of the 10-year agreement between De Beers and the government of Botswana. Under the old agreement, Botswana received 25 percent of the rough stones extracted, while De Beers took the remaining 75 percent.
With the new signed De Beers agreement, Immediately, Botswana will receive a 30 percent share of the rough stones, with an escalating increase to 50 percent within a decade.
There were many other breakthroughs in the historic De Beers agreement with the government of Botswana. For example the agreement also involves training Botswana people to make them experts in rendering precious stones highly valuable and also in studying and apprenticing in high-level jewelry design.
This dynamic is important to Lupita Nyong’o, to Anne of Carversville, and to all of our friends and readers who seek justice for all players in the global economy, not only stockholders and founders. AOC has a particular focus on luxury brands or mega brands like Apple, because they are better able to lean-in on this focus goal, which operates under the wider goals of sustainability.
For obvious reasons, the luxury brand consumer is also receptive to building an activism or philanthropy financial component into the cost of luxury fashion. For an increasing number of clients, activism by the brand is essential to a woman wearing it. This trend is less so for men, but they also are getting onboard with this priority.
Lupita Nyong’o and Chanel
via Lupita Nyong’o IG
Lupita Nyong’o and Selema Masekela
In these images Lupita Nyong’o wears Look 44 from Chanel’s resort 2024 collection. For one quick moment, I hoped it was from Chanel’s first-ever show in Africa: Chanel Métiers d’Art [pre-fall 2023] in Dakar, Senegal, a historic event that Anne of Carversville covered in-depth.
August 28: A Key Day in Lupita’s Life
Take note of the two lovebirds sitting in the salon of Coco Chanel’s apartment, in a series of images from the actor’s IG. Dear Lupita is in a deep-love relationship with Selema Masekela, born on my birthday August 28.
It’s also the day of Lupita’s ‘Black Panther’ co-star Chadwick Boseman’s passing: August 28, 2020.
Boseman’s passing was shattering for Lupita, but as she noted, when one door closes in our life journey, another frequently opens. In her case, that was meeting Selema Masekela, born August 28, 1971. If the name sounds familiar, Selema is the American-born son of Hugh Masekela, often described as "the father of South African jazz".
via Lupita Nyong’o IG
Clearly August 28 is an important day in Lupita’s life, as it is in mine. As an aside, I will add that the young American Emmett Till was murdered in Mississippi on August 28, 1955 and the famous Martin Luther King ‘I Have a Dream Speech’ was delivered at the August 28, 1963 March on Washington, attended by an estimated 260,000 people.
Masekela had carried a quiet torch for Lupita since 2016, when he found himself sitting behind her on an airplane. Not knowing what to do, but figuring that he had one shot, he began tweeting.
"Hypothetically speaking of course...let's say you're seated behind Lupita Nyong'o on an airplane, what would be your opening line," Masekela tweeted. "Anyone comes up with a good opener for me with Lupita Nyong'o, send em. "Cause I'm really sittin' right behind her on this flight.”
He eventually retweeted the suggestion, “Say hello, wait for her to respond. Tell her [your] dad shouted her out at a performance & freestyle from there.”
Masekela responded, “Yes!!! Well played. I will use this one. #playthedadcard @Lupita_Nyongo.”
Ferociously protective about her private life — almost as protective as she is of baby elephants in Africa — Lupita has shared little more about the years between that first meeting in 2016 and going Instagram official with Selema Masekela in late 2022.
Lupita Nyong'o Vogue US October 2016 Cover Story
AOC’s inspo to make Lupita Nyong’o our first ‘Catching Up with . . . ‘ focus came from our refresh of the Vogue US October 2016 fashion story lensed by Mario Testino. Lupita was at home with her family in Kenya.
Promoting her new movie 'Queen of Katwe', the elephant activist took us to her native Kenya in the Luo homeland-- "a stone's throw from Lake Victoria” -- for a Vogue interview by Elizabeth Rubin.
See It and Be It
Nyong’o spoke to many important topics in the interview. One of the most important is her role model position as a voice for Black skin and other women of color.
Among communities of color, there’s a saying “If you can’t see it, you can’t be it.”
Knowing Lupita Nyong’o to be such a precious person on every level, it’s the story of her meeting the celebrated model Alek Wek that makes my heart very tight with grief and empathy. Lupita has shared with frequency her recollection of making a pact with God that she'd stop stealing sugar cubes, if she could wake up with lighter skin.
Upon meeting Wek, the star could not contain her wonderment. There she was "dark as night" on all the runways, in magazines and on TV. When they finally met, Lupita could not believe the world considered Wek to be beautiful, a woman "who looked so much like me."
It’s time to take a pause. We need one more — if not two more — ‘Catching Up with Lupita Nyong’o’ posts to get fully up-to-date with her. But we’ll close for now with the wonderful human with so much ubuntu in her soul meeting her idol Alek Wek. ~ Anne
AOC articles referenced or related to this post:
Botswana and De Beers Renew Long-Term, Progressive Diamond Mining Partnership AOC Jewelry News
De Beers Cullinan Blue Diamond Sells at $57.5M at Sotheby's Hong Kong 8 Minute Auction AOC Jewelry News
Includes info about De Beers relationship with miners as part of the provenance pedigree of the De Beers Cullinan Blue Diamond auctioned by Sotheby’s.
Chanel Pre-Fall 2023 Dakar Campaign and Artisans-Artists Exhibit in Paris Thru July 30 AOC Fashion
Includes a deep set of 15 2023/2022 Chanel fashion show reviews, ad campaigns and fashion-related articles for Chanel lovers.
Lupita Nyong'o Is Ravishing In Vogue US October 2016 Cover Story & In-depth Interview AOC Fashion Thru 2019
