Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o has told of how her confidence was battered as a teenager because she thought her skin was too dark.
The 33-year-old Kenyan actress, who shot to fame and garnered her Oscar win for her role, in 2013's 12 Years A Slave, said that her self-worth was “deeply compromised” while growing up.
Speaking to The Times, Nyong’o said that she was surrounded from a young age by adverts which portrayed successful women as having lighter skin, a message that she began internalising as a teenager.
Nyong'o, at the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens last year
“My teenage years were plagued by the idea that light skin was better skin”, she said, “there were adverts on TV about a woman trying to get a job and she only got it when she applied skin lightening cream”.
“I felt that I was not considered beautiful because of my complexion”.
“My self-worth was deeply compromised in those years”, she said.
Despite this, Nyong’o has only gone from strength to strength since her breakout role.
She has since starred in movies such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and the reboot of Disney classic, The Jungle Book.
Skin whitening is a controversial but lucrative market. Global Industry Analysts predict the industry will be worth over €16 billion by 2018.
