Lupita Nyong’o Reveals Her Fibroids Have Returned

Twelve years after undergoing surgery to remove nearly 30 uterine fibroids, Lupita Nyong’o has revealed that they are back — and this time, there are more than 50. Her message is clear. “Common” does not mean acceptable.

Nyong’o first learned she had fibroids in 2014, the same year she won an Oscar for 12 Years a Slave. What should have been a triumphant season was also marked by exhaustion, heavy bleeding and monthly pelvic pain she had been taught to endure.

Speaking to Today, she explained how early sex education shaped her silence.

“They taught me that once my period started, that I should expect to be in pain every month,” she said. “So, when I was experiencing the heavy bleeding, it didn’t sound an alarm. The clotting was not anything remarkable to me. I didn’t understand my body. I didn’t know what was going on, and I didn’t know to be worried.”

Only after repeating her concerns did a doctor order an ultrasound. The scan revealed around 30 fibroids, benign tumors made of muscle and tissue that grow in and around the uterus. Some were as small as blueberries. One was the size of an orange.

She decided to undergo a myomectomy — a surgical procedure that removes fibroids from the uterus while preserving the uterus itself. For a time, her symptoms eased. But the improvement was temporary.

Now, more than a decade later, her doctors have identified over 50 fibroids. Her treatment options remain largely the same.

A Condition That Affects Millions

Fibroids are not rare. Medical research shows that up to 70 percent of white women and as many as 80 percent of Black women will develop fibroids by age 50. Black women also tend to experience earlier onset, larger growths and more severe symptoms, including higher rates of surgery and hospitalization.

Symptoms can include heavy or irregular bleeding, anemia, pelvic and back pain, fatigue, bladder pressure and fertility complications. Yet many women are told to manage the pain quietly.

“There’s something deeply wrong when a condition this widespread is this poorly understood,” Nyong’o wrote when she first shared her diagnosis publicly in July 2025. “Do you accept this as the status quo? Neither do I.”

That refusal has now grown into a movement.

Make Fibroids Count

In partnership with the Foundation for Women’s Health, Nyong’o launched a research grant focused on developing minimally invasive and non-invasive treatments. The aim is to move beyond repeat surgeries and hysterectomies as default solutions.

On February 25, 2026, she expanded the effort with the #MakeFibroidsCount campaign. The initiative encourages three actions:

Donate to fund fibroid research. Start a fundraiser through GoFundMe. Share personal stories using fruit imagery — a visual nod to how doctors often compare fibroid size to blueberries, oranges or grapefruits.

“Every dollar makes a difference. Every story breaks the silence. Every post challenges the status quo,” she said.

For Nyong’o, advocacy is about agency. “It’s very empowering to play a role in solving your own problem.”

Fibroids disproportionately affect Black women. They are often dismissed as routine, inevitable or simply “part of being a woman.” That normalization has consequences. Lupita Nyong’o is using her platform to demand more research, more awareness and more care. For millions of women living with fibroids, especially Black women, that visibility matters. It is time to speak up.