Lupita Nyong'o to Star in Trevor Noah Memoir Adaptation 'Born a Crime'

The actress will play the mother of the 'Daily Show' host in the story.


Lupita Nyong’o, currently lighting up the big screen in the blockbuster Black Panther, will star in the adaptation of The Daily Show host Trevor Noah’s memoir Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.


Noah is producing the project through his Ark Angel Productions banner. Norman Aladjem, Derek Van Pelt and Sanaz Yamin of Mainstay Entertainment are also producing, along with Nyong’o.


The project is in its early stages and has no director or writer.


Nyong’o is attached to portray Noah’s mother, the central figure in the book that has been described as not just the comedian’s account of growing up under apartheid rule in South Africa but also a love letter to his mother.


Noah was conceived from a white father and a black mother under a regime in which mixed relations were punishable by months-long prison incarcerations.


Key in the book is Noah’s time with his mother, who at first concealed her son to keep him safe from the threat of being taken by government forces to later giving everything to him in order to break a cycle of poverty and violence.


Born a Crime was released in 2016 and became a best-seller.