Lupita Nyong’o is breaking her silence on a deeply personal health journey—one that she says too many women face alone.
In a heartfelt series of Instagram posts, the award-winning actress revealed she has been battling uterine fibroids for over a decade. Diagnosed in 2014—the same year she won an Oscar for 12 Years a Slave—Nyong’o shared that she had 30 fibroids removed through surgery. But what shocked her most was the doctor’s response when she asked how to prevent them from returning: “You can’t. It’s only a matter of time.”
Uterine fibroids, though non-cancerous, can cause a range of symptoms from intense pain and heavy bleeding to fertility issues. Lupita noted how shockingly common the condition is—especially among Black women—yet rarely talked about. “Eight out of ten Black women will develop fibroids by 50,” she wrote. “So why the silence?”
The Black Panther star said she spent years quietly opening up to close friends, only to discover just how many women were also suffering in silence. “We’ve been taught that pain is part of being a woman, but that doesn’t make it normal,” she said. “No more quiet suffering.”
Lupita is now using her platform to push for change. She’s calling for better education, more accessible screenings, improved research, and less invasive treatments. To mark Fibroid Awareness Month, she joined U.S. lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to introduce a series of legislative bills focused on research funding, early detection, and public awareness.
She also announced the launch of the FWH x Lupita Nyong’o Uterine Fibroid Research Grant, which will support studies into safer, more effective treatments. With an estimated 15 million women in the U.S. affected, she hopes this move sparks real momentum.
“This is my story,” Lupita wrote. “And I hope it speaks to anyone who’s ever felt ignored, confused, or alone.”
