Unpack a list in Python?

I think 'unpack' might be the wrong vocabulary here - apologies because I'm sure this is a duplicate question.

My question is pretty simple: in a function that expects a list of items, how can I pass a Python list item without getting an error?

my_list = ['red', 'blue', 'orange']
function_that_needs_strings('red', 'blue', 'orange') # works!
function_that_needs_strings(my_list) # breaks!

Surely there must be a way to expand the list, and pass the function 'red','blue','orange' on the hoof?