Lupita Nyong’o
Lupita Nyong’o
Lupita Nyong’o!
This name has been splattered across
every front page newspaper, magazine, Facebook and Twitter timeline. In
case you haven’t been paying attention, and you haven’t the foggiest who
she is, let me tell you. Lupita Nyong’o is a Mexican born, Kenyan
actress who recently starred in her first movie, 12 Years a Slave.
In that movie she plays a strong willed, hardworking slave called
Patsey. So your probably asking right about now, if she is just an
actress, why do so many people love her?
Here are some reasons for the Lupita Nyong’o craze:
To a lot of women and young girls out
there she is the embodiment of being able to live your dreams. In her
winner’s speech at the Oscars, she stated so beautifully, that “no
matter where you are from, your dreams are valid.” To a lot of her fans
from the African continent and beyond, she makes us believe it. She went
from Drama School in Yale, to getting her first Oscar from her first
movie. To top it off, she is also one of the
only 7 Black women to ever
get an Oscar! Amazing right?
She is not afraid to speak about the
colour of her skin and the conversations it has started about people’s
perceptions of beauty. She has confessed in interviews and in her
award’s speeches about how growing up as a child she constantly wished
that she was a shade lighter because children used to tease her at
school. To the Lupita skeptics out there no, this is not just another
sob story. Lupita explained that when she noticed dark skinned models in
the modelling industry, like Alec Wek, she started to get her inner
confidence back seeing women with her complexion so successful. For a
lot of women who feel the need to bleach their skin in order to consider
themselves beautiful, Lupita’s story speaks to them. For a woman who
might not have the same insecurity, Lupita’s story is still touching,
because who doesn’t have insecurities that they grapple with?
It is great to see an actress be so
open. It is one of the reasons she is so relatable. She seems like a
sister you would look up to, a friend you could debate with, a daughter
you would be proud of. We also love thus far, how humble she is, and how
she is genuinely in awe of everything that has happened to her since
her time at Yale.
People love her sense of fashion!
Personally, I believe that her fashion sense isn’t worth all the hype,
but it is great to see that she is adventurous with colour. There was
this picture going around called the United Colours of Lupita
demonstrating that she wears a range of colours which contrast and
compliment her skin tone beautifully. In her spare time, Lupita is also
found gracing the pages of Vogue and other fashion magazines either in
interviews or wearing Miu Miu’s latest collection.
She gets Brownie points!
Everyone seems generally excited to see
which direction Lupita’s career goes, especially post an Oscar and her
performance in 12 years a Slave. Go Lupita!
Photo Credit: Essence Magazine
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Georgette Monnou was born in Lagos, Nigeria and has lived in various countries since then. She is in the final year of her Law degree in the UK. She updates her two blogs regularly, which are inspired by her passion for Nigeria and life itself.http://theunspokenwords93.blogspot.co.uk/ andhttp://wordsanddesigns.wordpress.com/.
Georgette Monnou was born in Lagos, Nigeria and has lived in various countries since then. She is in the final year of her Law degree in the UK. She updates her two blogs regularly, which are inspired by her passion for Nigeria and life itself.http://theunspokenwords93.blogspot.co.uk/ andhttp://wordsanddesigns.wordpress.com/.