Lupita Nyong’o covers her first Vogue cover in the July 2014 issue. This makes her the second African woman to cover the magazine! We’ll just add that as another one of her accomplishments this year!
With the success of 12 years a slave, winning the Oscar and getting a role in the upcoming Star Wars’ R2-D2 and C-3PO Lupita opens up about this past year.
On watching herself in 12 Years a Slave: “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.”
On being photographed by paparazzi for the first time: “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.”
On being intrigued by Star Wars‘ R2-D2 and C-3PO: “They just resonated with me. Being able to convey emotions with just a few digital sounds—it speaks of good storytelling… It’s a wonderful opportunity to be working in these fantastical realms. They’re worlds away from 12 Years a Slave, that’s for sure—but that kind of diversity is what dreams are made of.”
