After hearing the news on NBC’s The Today Show, Lupita Nyong’o replied, “It was exciting and just a major, major compliment. And especially, I was happy for all the girls who would see me on [it] and feel a little more seen.”
Tag: Lupita Nyong’o
Lupita Nyong’o won the Oscar for best supporting actress on Sunday for her role as the hardworking slave Patsey in drama “12 Years a Slave,” capping a breakout awards season for the Yale-trained Kenyan actress.
Nyong’o, 31, won the Oscar in her first feature film role, earning a thunderous standing ovation from the Hollywood audience. She beat fellow frontrunner Jennifer Lawrence’s portrayal of a loopy housewife in caper “American Hustle” in one of the most closely-watched Academy Award races this year.
“Yes!” the actress exclaimed when accepting the award after hugging her brother, “12 Years a Slave” director Steve McQueen and other actors in the film.
“It doesn’t escape me for one moment that so much joy in my life is thanks to so much pain in someone else’s, and so I want to salute the spirit of Patsey, for her guidance.”
Nyong’o, who earned the same award from her peers at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in January, was chosen for the role from some 1,000 young actresses who auditioned
She received plaudits from critics for her depiction of suffering as a field-working slave and the object of sexual desire from her master.
“12 Years a Slave” star Lupita Nyong’o says she repeatedly prayed to God asking for lighter skin during her adolescence … because she thought having dark black skin was a curse.
Nyong’o was honored with an award on Thursday at a luncheon for Essence … and said she was teased growing up for her “night-shaded skin” … so she prayed God would change it.
Lupita says she was so ashamed she couldn’t even look at herself in the mirror … adding, “Every day I experienced the same disappointment of being just as dark as I had been the day before.”
The actress says supermodel Alek Wek — one of the first dark skinned supermodels — helped boost her confidence … because people like Oprah praised her as a beautiful woman.
Nyong’o says she ultimately learned that beauty comes in all shades … and hopes to be an inspiration to other young girls with similar concerns.
