Gladness Gideon
Kenyan-Mexican actress and Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o has opened up for the first time about her private, decade-long battle with uterine fibroids, using her platform to spotlight a condition that affects millions of women yet remains shrouded in silence.
In a powerful series of posts shared on Instagram, the 12 Years a Slave star revealed that she was first diagnosed with the condition in 2014—the same year she won her Academy Award.
“In March 2014, I won an Academy Award. That same year, I discovered I had uterine fibroids—30 of them. I had surgery to remove them,” Nyong’o wrote, recounting the painful contrast between her public success and private health challenges. “I asked my doctor if I could do anything to prevent them from recurring. She said, ‘You can’t. It’s only a matter of time until they grow again.’”
Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous tumors that develop in or around the uterus. They range in size and can lead to a variety of complications, including excessive menstrual bleeding, anaemia, pelvic pain, and even fertility issues. Yet despite being extremely common—especially among Black women—the topic is rarely discussed publicly.
“Eight out of ten Black women and seven out of ten white women will experience fibroids by age 50. Yet we speak so little of them,” Nyong’o, 42, emphasized. “We’re taught that periods mean pain, and that pain is simply part of being a woman.”
Her candid revelation, timed with Fibroid Awareness Month, is part of a broader campaign to destigmatize the condition and push for systemic change. The actress has announced a partnership with U.S. lawmakers to introduce a legislative package that would improve outcomes for women living with fibroids.
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The proposed bills—introduced alongside Congresswomen Shontel Brown, Yvette Clarke, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Robin Kelly, and Senators Angela Alsobrooks and Laphonza Butler—aim to expand federal funding for fibroid research, enhance early detection, and raise national awareness.
“This is my story. This Fibroid Awareness Month and beyond, I hope my experience will resonate with anyone else who has ever felt dismissed, confused, or alone,” she said.
Nyong’o also unveiled the FWH x Lupita Nyong’o Uterine Fibroid Research Grant, launched in partnership with the Foundation for Women’s Health. The initiative will fund innovative research into minimally invasive and non-invasive treatments to improve the quality of life for the estimated 15 million women affected in the United States alone.
“I envision a future with early education for teenagers, better screening protocols, robust prevention research, and less invasive treatments for uterine fibroids,” she said. “No more suffering in silence.”
Nyong’o’s advocacy marks a major step toward breaking long-held taboos and could serve as a catalyst for broader awareness, policy reform, and improved care for women’s reproductive health.