Lupita Nyong’o, America’s “It Girl” of 2014, is now People’s Most Beautiful.
The 31-year-old Brooklyn resident nabbed the magazine’s honor after a whirlwind year, in which she acted in her first film ever — “12 Years a Slave” — and then won an Oscar for her powerful performance.
The actress, who grew up in Kenya, told the magazine that her idea of beauty has evolved over the years. When she was younger, she thought it was defined by what she saw on TV: “light skin and long flowing straight hair.”
“Subconsciously, you start to appreciate those things more than what you possess,” she said.
But with her mother telling her that she, too, was beautiful, Nyong’o said she “finally started to believe her at some point.”
The magazine includes a number of other gorgeous stars in its Most Beautiful issue, out on Friday, among them Kate Hudson, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Kerry Washington, Keri Russell and Mindy Kaling.
