Fans of actress Lupita Nyong’o are seeing her in a new light after catching a glimpse of her rich melanin in a bikini pic.
The “Us” actress mesmerized fans when she posted the photo on March 13. Though her fans were ogling her from head to toe, Lupita used the opportunity to show off the craftsmanship of the bathing suit that was made by Black-owned business Ohana Swimwear.
Her caption was simple: “Vitamin D.”
“The Sun is the best formula for the skin😍” commented a person.
“Queen thingzzzz👑💎”
“A goddess aware of her power”
“Melanin for days 🔥🔥🔥” and “Skin by Hershey” others commented.
An especially adoring fan wrote, “And just when I thought lupita couldn’t get anymore beautiful she posts this.”
The Oscar winner is praised for her acting skills and beauty, however, that has not always been the case. As rich as her melanin and self-labeled Mexican-Kenyan roots are, the 38-year-old has not always found the beauty in her skin tone.
“I had a sister who was lighter-skinned, and people would coo over her in ways they wouldn’t at me, so I definitely internalised that,” she explained to The Sunday Times Style in 2019. Feeling as though her skin tone was less than beautiful, Lupita admits she once wished her skin was lighter.
“I tried what I could to make it so — prayer and stuff like that,” she said.
Now having worked through her own perceptions of colorism, Lupita has found a way to help children, and adults, embrace and love the skin they are in. In 2019 she wrote her first children’s book: “Sulwe.”
The book is about a little girl whose skin is just as richly colored as a midnight sky and her journey to loving herself. And as moving as the book was for the actress to create, she has experienced that same fulfillment seeing others read the book.
“It’s been very moving, it has really resonated with a lot of people,” she told “Good Morning America” on March 3, 2021. She also recalled being moved to tears while watching actress Penelope Cruz read the book to her own daughter.
“It was so moving to see someone else from a very different cultural background touched by the story,” she said. The story is already available as an audio, but it has already been announced that Netflix will adapt the bestselling story into an animated musical.
“She’s an icon, she’s a legend and she is the moment”
“Pretty like Lupita when the cameras close in 😍😍”
