Lupita Nyong’o Breaks the Silence on Fibroids, Launches Awareness Campaign and Research Grant

Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o is turning her personal health journey into advocacy, speaking out for Fibroid Awareness Month and calling for urgent action on a condition that affects millions of women.

In a heartfelt Instagram post on July 15, the Black Panther star opened up about her diagnosis with uterine fibroids in 2014, the same year she took home the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Nyong’o revealed she underwent surgery to remove 30 fibroids, and was told by her doctor that it was “only a matter of time” before they returned.

Lupita Nyong’o used her platform to shed light on the widespread impact of fibroids, noting that 80% of Black women and 70% of white women will develop the condition by age 50. “Yet we speak so little of them,” she wrote, highlighting the stigma and silence that often surrounds menstrual pain and reproductive health.

“When we reach puberty, we’re taught that periods mean pain, and that pain is simply part of being a woman,” Nyong’o observed. “We’re struggling alone with something that affects most of us. No more suffering in silence!”

Determined to drive change, Nyong’o is working alongside members of Congress to introduce legislation aimed at increasing research funding, improving early detection and treatment options, and raising public awareness about uterine fibroids.

She has also partnered with the Foundation for Women’s Health to launch the FWH x Lupita Nyong’o Uterine Fibroid Research Grant. The grant is designed to support the development of minimally invasive and non-invasive treatments to ease symptoms and improve quality of life for the estimated 15 million women in the U.S. living with fibroids.

“This Fibroid Awareness Month and beyond, I hope my experience will resonate with anyone else who has ever felt dismissed, confused, or alone,” Nyong’o wrote. “We deserve better. It’s time to demand it. Silence serves no one.”