Lupita Nyong’o Shares Decade-Long Fibroid Battle, Launches Research Grant

Lupita Nyong’o is using her platform to bring attention to a condition that quietly affects millions of women.

 In a candid Instagram post shared on Monday, July 15, the actress revealed her personal struggle with uterine fibroids marking the first time she has publicly addressed the issue.

Nyong’o, who won an Academy Award in 2014 for “12 Years a Slave,” disclosed that she underwent surgery that same year to remove 30 fibroids. “I asked my doctor if I could do anything to prevent them from recurring,” she wrote. “She said: ‘You can’t.’”

Now 42, the “Black Panther” star says she has lived with the condition for over a decade and is determined to help others avoid the same confusion and silence she once endured. “No more suffering in silence,” her statement reads. “We must reject the normalisation of female pain.”

To back up her advocacy with action, Nyong’o has partnered with the Foundation for Women’s Health to launch a dedicated fibroid research grant. The initiative, titled the FWH x Lupita Nyong’o Uterine Fibroid Research Grant, aims to support the development of minimally invasive treatment options and improve screening protocols.

She also recently took her message to Capitol Hill, joining U.S. lawmakers to support new legislation that could fund research and improve early detection efforts.

Fibroids—non-cancerous growths that form in or around the uterus—affect up to 80% of Black women, according to health experts. Yet, the condition is often misunderstood or dismissed, particularly in younger women.

Nyong’o hopes her experience will encourage more open conversation and better healthcare support: “We deserve better. It’s time to demand it.”

Her post has received widespread support, with public figures like Kerry Washington and Halle Berry commending her openness.