Oscar Hangover: Why Lupita Nyong’o Is Our New Favorite Person

In somewhat of an upset, after J Law took home the Golden Globe in January, “12 Years a Slave” star Lupita Nyong’o won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar at last night’s ceremony.  Before Christoph Waltz called her name, many of us hadn’t heard of Miss Lupita, daughter of Mexico City and graduate of the Yale School of Drama, but since she took the stage we can’t wait to see what she does next.  Check out her show-stopping acceptance speech here:

Not since Jennifer Lawrence tripped on her way to the pulpit last year has a starlet been so easy to love.  “It doesn’t escape me for one moment that so much joy in my life is due to so much pain in someone else’s,” she said in her tribute to her character Patsey, the real-life slave she portrayed in the Best Picture winning feature.  Her humble awareness of the source material’s importance exceeds her age – a mere 31 – and acting experience.  As an actress who seemingly popped out of nowhere this year, appearing only in the mini-series Shuga and the short East River prior to her appearance in “12 Years a Slave,” she’s extraordinarily grounded and has no reservations about where she came from.

While Matthew McConaughey – who despite his forthright portrayal of AIDS treatment pioneer Ron Woodroof – proceeded to thank essentially no one but God and himself in his acceptance speech (I’m sure the LGBTQ crowd is already in a hushed uproar about it), Lupita understood her role in the grand picture.

“When I look down at this golden statue, may it remind me and every little child that no matter where you’re from, your dreams are valid.”  She trembled close to tears for her entire speech, during which she thanked costar Chiwetel Ejiofor and many behind-the-scenes contributors to the film (including her make-up artist and hair stylist).

In a stacked industry where favors and masturbatory back patting seem to rule, it appears there’s still room for fresh faces.  We at Writtalin can’t wait to see her in the Oscar pool next year.

Go see Lupita Nyong’o in Universal’s Non-Stop this week where she stars alongside perpetual badass Liam Neeson.

Tags : 12 years a slave, 2014, Academy Award, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christoph Waltz, Lupita Nyongo, Matthew McConaughey, Oscar, Oscars, speech, Yale Drama School