Lupita Nyong’o Lands Her First Cover of Vogue

In little more than a year, Lupita Nyong’o has made the leap from serious student to Oscar-winning actress and head-turning fashion star. Hamish Bowles catches up with Hollywood’s newest golden girl.
“I was really nervous about seeing myself in 12 Years a Slave because it had been such a profound experience in all ways,”

“I remember it being one of the most joyful times in my life — and also one of the most sorrowful. I didn’t want my experience to be a vain one. But I will say that when I watched it, my heartstrings were pulled so tight for [the main character] Solomon that I couldn’t go into the ego trip. I cried — I mean, I was inconsolable. I wept for an hour after the movie.”

“It just feels like the entertainment industry exploded into my life,…People who seemed so distant all of a sudden were right in front of me and recognizing me — before I recognized them!”

“For a split second I looked behind me to see who they were flashing at — and it was me! That was, I think, the beginning of the end of my anonymity.”