Lupita Nyong’o is our new Blanchett-Swinton. Adjust your fashion expectations accordingly. Anyway, since Lupita is everyone’s new lady-crush, I thought we’d expand the coverage of her a little bit. I’m sure we’re going to be seeing more of her in the months to come – many Oscar prognosticators believe she’s a major contender for Best Supporting Actress, and if not that, she’ll be around throughout the awards season because 12 Years a Slave is on the top of everyone’s Best Picture list. So here are some interesting factoids about Lupita:

*She’s 30 years old. She was born in Mexico and raised in Kenya. She now lives in Brooklyn. She graduated from the Yale School of Drama too.

*To get the role of Patsey, she had to audition three times: “I put myself on tape in New York with her help, and then a week later I was in Los Angeles and I went in to audition with Francine Maisler, the casting director. She put me through the ringer. Then, finally, I was invited to Louisiana to audition for Steve. I auditioned in three different states.”

*How she got the call: “After I auditioned for Steve, I flew back to New Haven, Conn. and I was just about to go and sit in the sun and take in the last 24 hours when I received his call saying, ‘I’d like to offer you the part.’ My heart leaped, and then it sunk. I was so happy to get it, but then I realized, ‘Oh, no. This is where it begins.’ That was bad! My grief and turmoil would continue for the next two or three months. I think the hardest thing for me was getting beyond the feeling of intimidation and pressure of being thrown into this process with such established artists. Recognizing that I did have it within me to do it — that I had the confidence and trust in myself. It was also about allowing that kind of grief in. As human beings, we are all about building walls. You experience a trauma, and then you build a wall against that trauma. As an actor, you have to avail yourself to trauma over and over again. Despite knowing what it might do to you. That was the challenge.”

*Lupita’s thoughts on slavery: “For one thing, I didn’t know that I didn’t know about slavery. I was like, “Whoa! There’s so much going on in this world that I didn’t realize I didn’t know.” In its entirety, “12 Years A Slave,” and the experience of being in it, has been an education, and I hope its the same for people who watch it. What struck me watching the film is how much it is about a call to love. The only that gets Solomon through those 12 years is love for his family and the faith that he would see them again. Slavery, as it is depicted in Solomon Northup’s autobiography and in Steve’s film, is very human. That institution was created by human beings in a way that we don’t necessarily want to acknowledge or accept. Recognizing the humanity all around. Even a person like Epps, who does such despicable things, you cannot deny in the way that Michael Fassbender plays him that he is human. He is acting out of circumstance and fear and ignorance.”

*On her Oscar chances: “My name is coming up alongside people that I have grown up watching and who I respect so deeply. That is incredible and unbelievable. At the end of the day, at this point — before the film has opened — I’m just so excited that it is resonating. I’m so excited that the thing Steve set off to do is being received and received positively. I just wish for that to continue. If awards buzz is the way in which we get people to see it, then so be it! For me personally, my reward has been being a part of this process. It’s a reward that just keeps giving. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

*She’s a major Brad Pitt fan-girl: “I’m still trying to get over the fact that my name is being mentioned with freakin’ Brad Pitt! It’s a lot…When I was cast in his film [I thought] surely I was going to meet him one day. I wouldn’t say I was star struck. I was stunned. I was like, ‘Yup, this is actually happening.’ “

[Via People Magazine & HuffPo]

She seems like a lovely young woman. I’ll admit, the thing that shocked me was her age. I thought she was like 22 or 23 years old. She’s 30 years old and a graduate of Yale Drama? Damn. Those are some amazing genes. Anyway, now I really want Lupita to get an Oscar nomination. And not just because I want to see her go toe-to-toe with Oprah Winfrey! I actually think that whenever Oprah meets Lupita, Oprah will probably have a big lady-crush on her too. Julia Roberts will be a different story though.

Photos courtesy of WENN.