Long Live Lupita

ACTOR, FEMINIST, LANCÔME ambassadress and more, LUPITA NYONG’O is a force to be reckoned with…

- Jane Taylor

Lupita Nyong’o has a remarkably confident and upbeat take on life. Growing up in the ambitious home environment of one of Kenya’s most important political families, she was always expected to achieve great things. So, when she won the best actress Oscar for 12 Years a Slave, it was merely one step towards fulfilling her manifest destiny. And now she’s made her mark as the female lead in the superhero blockbuster Black Panther, her first venture into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s yet one more accomplishment for the sensationally beautiful Lupita, and part of her ingrained sense of mission to keep setting the bar higher as both an actor and socially engaged citizen of the world.

‘I was raised to be confident and determined,’ Lupita says. ‘In my family, you were expected to achieve great things. Even though there were times when I worried whether success would come [or not], I always believed that if I worked hard and kept believing in myself that good things would happen to me. Of course, I was hoping to find regular work – I didn’t expect to win an Oscar.

But it did give me a tremendous sense of reassurance that it pays to have faith in your abilities.’

Lupita plays Nakia in Black Panther, one of the elite groups of Wakandan women, known as the Dora Milaje, assigned to protect King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) aka Black Panther. Together, they defend Wakanda against powerful enemies and all-out battles in order to prevent their land from being dragged into a war. Lupita’s sexy spandex outfit as part of her superhero debut certainly added to the character she describes as a feminist ‘warrior.’