Lupita Nyong'o: 10 Things To Know About Mexican-Kenyan '12 Years A Slave ' Actress

This year, 2014, will be a year Lupita Nyong’o will never forget for her recent success in “12 Years a Slave.” She is living the dream. She won Best Supporting Female at the Independent Spirit Awards for her role in “12 Years a Slave” and the following night won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for the same film. You can only imagine the celebrations taking place in Kenya after all the success this humble actress is having. They have another thing to be proud of and that being that Lupita is the first African Woman to win an Oscar. There are many things we do not know about her, but we would like to learn more about this Mexican-Kenyan beauty. Here is a list of 10 things you didn’t know about Lupita Nyong’o

1. She wrote, directed and produced “In My Genes,” her award winning documentary.

2. She speaks four languages: Luo, Swahili, English and Spanish.

3. “The Color Purple” inspired her to become an actress.

4. She comes from an accomplished family.

5. Born in Mexico to a Kenyan family.

6. She studied drama at Yale University.

7. She was named one of Vogue’s Top Ten Rising Style Stars of 2014.

8. For her role in “12 Years a Slave,” she took inspiration from Michael Jackson’s persona.

9. Her next role is in the film “Non-Stop” featuring Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore.

10. Her first acting job after graduating from Yale was “12 Years a Slave.”