Top 5 popular African film stars excelling in Hollywood

The number of African actors and actresses in Hollywood has been rising in recent years. These actors and actresses bring a nice local touch of diversity to Hollywood films and television shows. American movies and TV shows are watched globally, and many fans can identify with the narrative of the different cultures they portray.

The rise of Thuso Mbedu over the last two years into Hollywood stardom has been one of the most inspiring African stories in recent time.

Impulse Africa Magazine is here to give a nod to the Top 5 popular African actors/actresses excelling in Hollywood right now. 

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• Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron, (born August 7, 1975, Benoni, South Africa), South African-born actress who was noted for her versatility and earned an Academy Award for best actress for her performance as a real-life serial killer in Monster (2003).

Theron grew up on a farm near Benoni, South Africa. At age 13, wanting to continue her ballet studies, she began attending a boarding school that specialized in the arts. During a visit home when she was 15, her mother shot and killed her father in self-defense after being attacked by him while he was drunk.

She grew up during apartheid in South Africa and fought her way to Hollywood greatness. Now she squares off with the biggest stars in Hollywood.

Theron who boasts an approximate net worth of $170 million in 2022.Has been featured in a number of popular movies, including Monster, The Devil’s Advocate, Mighty Joe Young, Cider House Rules, Prometheus, Sleepwalking, and 15 Minutes.

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• Prince David

Prince David was born in 1983 in Accra, Ghana and is among the best black male actors from the country. He is an actor, model, producer, director, and philanthropist.

After entering the Ghanaian movie scene graduating from the University of Ghana in 2007 he made the biggest breakthrough of his career by co-starring in a Hollywood horror movie, ‘The Dead’.

Prince has stared in over a dozen of movies including ‘In the Eyes of my Husband’, ‘Passion and Soul’, ‘Agony of the Christ’, ‘Dons of Sakawa’, ‘Shakira’, ‘Heart of Men’ and ‘Kiss Me If You Can’.

• Lupita Nyong’o

Growing up as the daughter of a well-to-do Nairobi politician, she shied away from admitting that acting was her passion.

Lupita was born on March 1, 1893 in Mexico City where her father spent time teaching political science. When she was a year old her family moved back to Kenya.

Her parents sent her back to Mexico, aged 16 to study Spanish, which speaks fluently along with English, Swahili and the language of her tribe, Luo.

She then went to study film at Hampshire College in the US, with a view to working in production or directing.

In 2004 Lupita Nyong’o was working as a runner on a film for Ralph Fiennes. Fast forward a decade and she’d picked up Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for her role in 12 Years a Slave.

Lupita is one of the most successful African actresses in Hollywood. She is known for her roles in 12 Years a Slave, Black Panther, Us, Queen of Katwe, The Jungle Book, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

She has paved the way for many stars and showed what can be achieved by Africans in Hollywood.

• Thuso Mbedu

Africa’s shining golden girl in Hollywood.

Thuso Mbedu is a South African actress whose work has gained her so much fame even internationally. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her role in the telenovela Is’Thunzi, which was called one of the most compelling television programmes on South African television.

There’s no denying that Thuso’s onscreen presence is one that people always look forward to and she’s been fairly recognized for her brilliant work.

2019 saw her make a breakthrough in the international television space. She landed a role of playing Cora in The Underground Railroad. The series was based on the best-seller novel with the same title by Colson Whitehead.

Thuso’s rise has been inspirational for many Africans and a lot can be expected from her going forward as she continues to stamp her authority in Hollywood.

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• Rachel Mwanza

Rachel Mwanza is an actress from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, best known for her performance as Komona in the 2012 film Rebelle (War Witch).

Born in 1997 and abandoned by her parents as a child, Mwanza spent several years living as a street child in Kinshasa before being cast in Rebelle. She was cast in the film after director Kim Nguyen and producers Pierre Even and Marie-Claude Poulin saw her in a documentary film on the street kids of Kinshasa.

Her performance in Rebelle garnered her awards for Best Actress from the Berlin Film Festival, the Tribeca Film Festival and the Vancouver Film Critics Circle in 2012, as well as a nomination for Best Actress at the 2013 Canadian Screen Awards.

She is now among the best young African actors in Hollywood.

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