Congratulations to actress Lupita Nyong?o for her stunning People magazine cover!

The Academy Award winner was officially named one of People Magazine?s most beautiful woman and covers the mag’s annual ’50 Most Beautiful’ issue.

Nyong?o graces the cover of People?s forthcoming issue in colorful separates; a pink crop top and a stunning orange skirt. As the star smiles for the camera, her left arm softly grazes the back of her neck.

More details + video of Lupita’s People mag photoshoot below…

Born in Mexico and raised in Kenya, Nyong’o first equated beauty with what she saw on TV: “Light skin and long, flowing, straight hair,” she recalls.

“Subconsciously you start to appreciate those things more than what you possess.” Luckily, Nyong’o says her mother, Dorothy, “always said I was beautiful. And I finally believed her at some point.” Now she says the best compliments are “when I have been called beautiful with not one drop of makeup on. And also before I comb my hair or put on a pretty dress.”

In the video interview below, Lupita admits that it was her mother who first made her feel beautiful:

She said that a lot. Especially when I felt the least bit beautiful.

As an adolescent you go through times when you just feel ugly generally and my mother always said that I was really beautiful… and I finally believed her at some point.

“What an incredible journey to go from that feeling to being on the cover of this magazine. I mean, you could have never told me that that would happen when I was 16 and insecure about my complexion,” the Yale School of Drama graduate said.

“I hope it means something to more than just me, to people like me who feel unbeautiful in whatever skin they’re in.” And while she may look at ease at awards shows these days, that’s not always the case. “The red carpet?I mean, that thing is intense!” Nyong’o admitted. “It’s horrific, it’s frustrating, it’s painful, it’s beautiful, it’s funny, it’s exciting and it’s fun.” (source)

Congrats again to the beautiful Lupita Lyong’o!

What do you think of Lupita’s people magazine cover?