STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

Lupita Nyong’o Narrates Her Award-Winning Kids Book ‘Sulwe’

The actress says she wants to bring the characters to life as she imagined them.

Lupita Nyong’o is hands on when it comes to her work.

The Us actress revealed she’s narrated an audiobook of her award-winning 2019 children’s book Sulwe, according to PEOPLE.

The story is about 5-year-old Sulwe, a girl who has the darkest skin in her family, and wants to be beautiful like her mother and sister.

RELATED: Lupita Nyong’o’s ‘Us’ Performance Just Made History For Black Women

With her name meaning “star,” the young girl takes a magical trip through the night sky and learns to appreciate her beauty.

"Listening to a book read aloud is such a personal, intimate way to experience the characters and story," Nyong'o tells PEOPLE. "I wanted to narrate the audiobook for Sulwe myself in order to bring to life the characters as I had imagined them in my head when writing the book.”

Nyong’o says the character of Mama is inspired by her own, who uses “warmth, calm and compassion” to guide her to this day.

The audiobook edition of Sulwe is slated for a February 23 release via Listening Library.

Sulwe earned a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Children's Literary Work. It was illustrated by Vashti Harrison and inspired by Nyong'o's own experiences with colorism.

"Although colorism is a heavy topic," she said during a 2019 interview with PEOPLE. "It was important to me that Sulwe's story have warmth, whimsy and exist in a land of dreams."

Latest News

Subscribe for BET Updates

Provide your email address to receive our newsletter.


By clicking Subscribe, you confirm that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. You also agree to receive marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers) and other information from BET and the Paramount family of companies. You understand that you can unsubscribe at any time.