Lupita Nyong'o Honors Mom's Birthday with Emotional Tribute: 'May I Grow to Be Half the Woman She Is'

"She has taught me that the most rewarding thing to know, to pursue, is love," the actress said of her mother

Lupita Nyong'o is celebrating her mom Dorothy.

The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star, 40, shared an emotional tribute on Instagram to honor her mother on her birthday, shedding some light on their strong bond and the lessons she’s learned from the matriarch over the years.

She posted a carousel of pictures of the pair over the years starting with a photo of them both smiling while holding a pet carrier with her new pet cat Yoyo inside. In another shot, Nyong'o, in a green strapless gown, poses next to her mother, in a teal and blue halter gown.

Their close mother-daughter bond was in full display in the pictures, with Dorothy looking proudly at her daughter in a colorful purple dress as they embraced in another photo, which appeared to be taken during the actress’ recent trip to Nairobi. A  younger Nyong'o could also be seen hugging her mother from behind as they smile and pose for the camera in front of a tropical background.

Related: Lupita Nyong'o Takes Walk with Her Mom Dorothy and a Friend Following Split from Selema Masekela

She also shared a snap of her and her parents ahead of the 2014 Academy Awards where she won Best Supporting Actress for her role in 12 Years a Slave before ending the carousel with a shot of her mother making the Wakanda hand sign during the premiere of the second Black Panther film.

“I deeply love my mother,” Nyong'o captioned the post. “She is my closest friend and my number one champion. Today is her birthday.”

“She was a baby once upon a time. She was a child once upon a time. I didn't know her back then (obvs!); when I met her when she was an adult, I thought she knew everything,” she continued. “Now that I am older, now that I am an adult myself, I know that she too is figuring things out as she goes through her one gifted life.”

Related: Lupita Nyong'o Says Her Mom Watched 'Us' with Her Eyes Closed Because She Was So Scared

“But my mother has known a love that surpasses all understanding and she has shared it with us. She has taught me that the most rewarding thing to know, to pursue, is love. At a time when I am terrified to make that principle my north star, I am reassured by the bounty of her love and generous spirit. May I grow to be half the woman she is,” she concluded the post, adding the hashtag “birthday tribute.”

The actress has received lots of support from her mother over the years, through the ups and the downs in her life. Dorothys also attended several premieres for her daughter’s movies, even the scary ones like 2019’s Us. Nyong'o explained that her mother “hates scary movies” and had “shut her eyes the whole time and blocked her ears,” but it meant so much for her to be there.

“I’m happy she was there, I can assure you that’s not her favorite film of mine,” she told PEOPLE in 2019. “But, she is supportive until the day she dies. She will sit through despite the fact that she doesn’t have the spine for it.”

She added, “That kind of thing warms my heart because I know she’s my number one fan whether she can handle my madness or not.”

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.