Nairobi — Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o has opened up about her 11-year struggle with uterine fibroids, revealing she underwent 30 surgeries after being diagnosed with the condition in 2013.

The 42-year-old Oscar winner shared the deeply personal health journey on Instagram, saying she had been "suffering in silence" and now wants to break the stigma around women's reproductive health.

"In March 2014, I won an Academy Award. That same year, I discovered I had uterine fibroids--30 of them," Nyong'o wrote.

"I had surgery to remove them. I asked my doctor if I could do anything to prevent them from recurring. She said: 'You can't. It's only a matter of time until they grow again."'

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Uterine fibroids are non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the uterus and can cause symptoms ranging from heavy bleeding and anemia to pelvic pain, frequent urination, and pregnancy complications.

Nyong'o described the growths as ranging in size "from the size of a pea to as large as a melon," and pointed out that while some women experience no symptoms, others face "debilitating effects."

Greater awareness

She highlighted how little people discuss the condition, especially among Black women, noting that fibroids affect 8 out of 10 Black women and 7 out of 10 white women.

"When we reach puberty, we're taught periods mean pain, and that pain is simply part of being a woman," she wrote.

"I started talking about my experience privately and realized so many women are going through this. We're struggling alone with something that affects us most. No more suffering in silence!"

Nyong'o called for greater public awareness and medical investment in women's health, envisioning a future with early education, better screening, more prevention research, and less invasive treatments.

"We must reject the normalization of female pain," she wrote.

"Let's study women's health and prioritize this chronic condition that has never [been] comprehensively examined."