By Brianna Diodata
Staff Writer

Wowing critics and audiences by her breathtaking performance in “12 Years a Slave,” Academy Award winning newcomer Lupita Nyong’o has captivated everyone’s heart. Born in Mexico, but raised in Kenya, 31-year-old Yale School of Drama graduate, Nyong’o, has broken boundaries in Hollywood. Her dark flawless complexion and short haircut sets her apart from other actresses and shatters stereotypes on beauty.

During the 86th Annual Academy Awards, Nyong’o won Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Patsey in the film “12 Years a Slave.” She is only the sixth black actress in history to have won this award; she is also one of the few actors to receive an Oscar for her debut role.

Although this is her first feature film, Nyong’o has experience in the film industry. Before her debut role as Patsey in the award winning film “12 Years a Slave,” she directed and produced a documentary named “In My Genes” which explored albinism in Africa. She also was the lead in MTV’s drama series “Shuga” in Nov. of 2009.

Nyong’o gave a beautiful and meaningful acceptance speech: she expressed her thanks for her new gold-man as she said, “No matter where you are from your dreams are valid.”

She also paid respect to the spirits of Patesy and other slaves while taking note that her joy had stemmed from another person’s pain. “She said everything she needed to say in that speech and she put it so eloquently,” junior Olivia Cruz said.

With societal norms and the images of beauty that society is bombarded with every day, she is helping change the definition of beautiful. A woman that looks like Lupita is not what many would normally see in mainstream advertising and magazines. With her being in the forefront of the film world, she is truly a breath of fresh air.

Model Alek Wek helped her see herself in a different light. “[Alek] was dark as night, she was on all of the runways and in every magazine and everyone was talking about how beautiful she was. Even Oprah called her beautiful and that made it a fact. I couldn’t believe that people were embracing a woman who looked so much like me as beautiful,” Nyong’o, at the Black Women in Hollywood luncheon, said. She also expressed her wants to inspire other darker skinned girls to believe in themselves.

Nyong’o will hopefully continue to inspire youths that want to get involved in the film world that their appearance is a minute factor if a skill is there. “I remember a time when I felt unbeautiful. I put on the TV and only saw pale skin; I got teased and taunted about my night-shaded skin. And my one prayer to God, the miracle worker, was that I would wake up lighter-skinned,” Nyong’o said at the Luncheon.

“And so I hope that my presence on your screens and in the magazines may lead you…That you will feel the validation of your external beauty but also get to the deeper business of being beautiful inside. There is no shade in that beauty.”