Kenyan star Lupita Nyong’o graces the new cover of Porter Magazine wearing a gorgeous red Gucci dress. In the accompanying spread, lensed by Mario Sorrenti, Lupita poses in figure-flattering looks for the new season. Styled by Cathy Kasterine, the Lancôme ambassador is radiant and as candid as ever. Scroll down to see excerpts from her interview.
On the reason she became an actress.
“At times, I’ve had to remind myself why I love [acting]. It’s not because of the recognition. I love it because I enjoy experiencing the world through other people’s eyes
On whom she credits much of her success
“I don’t underestimate how much she influenced who I am,” Nyong’o says “I come from a very patriarchal world, but not within my family. My dad listened to my mom. My mom held her own. There was never a sense of her deflecting from my father. She had the power to say no to things, and I saw her hold that power.”
As women are reclaiming their power through the #MeToo and Time’s Up anti-harassment movements, Nyong’o comes across as a woman who has never relinquished control of hers.
On her 12 aunts
“We’re extremely close,” she says. She had 12 aunts who were always about. “Some of them were trippy,” she says, laughing. “But together they gave me a really good base of what womanhood is and can be.” Nyong’o’s sense of style developed early; closet staples included red corduroy skirted overalls and a sweet, flowery, purple-and-pink dress that she proceeds to describe in detail. “I wore it to every event. It’s kinda still the style I wear today,” she says.
On her hair and that Grazia debacle
“My hair is something that, historically, has been shunned,” she says. “I mean, how often do you hear, ‘You can’t get a job with hair like that’?” I ask if that’s still true. “Oh, yes,” she says. “Natural, African, kinky hair – it’s often been painted as uncivilized or wild.” On Instagram, she added to her initial post, writing, “Being featured on the cover of a magazine fulfills me, as it is an opportunity to show other dark, kinky-haired people, and particularly our children, that they are beautiful just the way they are.”
Credits
Photography: Mario Sorrenti at Art Partner
Editor-in-Chief: Lucy Yeomans
Styling: Cathy Kasterine at CLM
Hair: Vernon Francois At The Visionaries Agency using Vernon Francois Products
Makeup: Nick Barose for Exclusive Artists using Lancôme
Nails: Deborah Lippmann at Starworks
Set design: Philipp Haemmerle
Production: Hens Tooth Production
The Desire issue also features speaks about empowering women with fashion force @donatella_versace, discusses love with @arizona_muse and what to expect when entering a marriage today with Hollywood’s most in-demand divorce lawyer, Laura Wasser.
Find PORTER’s Fall issue in global newsstands on 10 August. You can also Download the PORTER app on iTunes and Google Play Store now