Lupita Nyong’o Reveals How Her Dad’s Political Life Has Influenced Her

Catapulted into fame for her character Patsey in ’12 Years a Slave’, Lupita Nyong’o is the first Kenyan actress to win an Oscar and the first black ambassador for the French luxury brand Lancôme.

Less than two months away from the world premiere of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’, Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o sits down with CNN’s Robyn Kriel in a new episode of ‘Leading Women’ as she speaks about her career, her wish to change the narrative for young Africans and  how her dad’s political life has influenced her.

On being a perfectionist and the fear of failure

“I think I pursue perfection and I delight in never achieving it but perfection is always really the goal. I know that I am not perfect and that I should not necessarily ever get to perfection but the pursuit of it is where the joy comes. A healthy fear of failure is good and it definitely keeps me on my toes knowing that things could go morbidly wrong. I don’t allow myself to get paralyzed by that because I think through failure, you learn more and you grow more.”

On how her dad’s political life has influenced her

“Because I was raised observing and absorbing orature, just public speaking and all that, I think it’s definitely helped to have him as an example. He’s very funny and also very at ease in front of people and I think that’s something that may have rubbed off on me. Oral communication is something that’s very important, especially in my ethnic group. It’s the way in which history has been passed down from one generation to another. Therefore, it’s something I regard very highly in which I respect and that I work towards.”

On the importance for young women to have mentors

“I think in the world of acting, someone that has been a mentor to me is Alfre Woodard. I met her on ‘12 Years a Slave’ and she’s been such a great support in just helping me figure out this public life and how to make decisions when I can about what projects to work on and stuff like that. It’s really important to have someone with more experience than you who can shed light on things for you so that you don’t have to learn just from experience yourself, that you can learn from other people’s mistakes and choices. I have quite a few of those. I believe in referring to other people who know more than me. I never want to be too much of an expert to not seek advice.”

Check out the Full interview that airs tomorrow , October 28th at 1030am CET and 1730pm CET on CNN International