Damn. That made me cry.

She really is super amazing.

"What's interesting here is that in the flurry of activity about who and how she is, Lupita Nyong'o reminds us that she doesn't need our validation. That is way more interesting to me—the confidence of a woman who changes the conversation by transcending it, succeeding not in spite of, but because of how self-possessed she is."

Yes. And I suspect that confidence comes at least in part from something that I haven't seen anyone discuss anywhere yet - she's 31. She has had a decade of adulthood, working, learning, possessing herself, without the soul-crushing pressure of fame. Because of Hollywood's obsession with youth, so many potentially pathbreaking women in Hollywood become famous when they are still teenagers or just barely adults. It's not a surprise that they often lose their way, lose themselves, under the glare of all those lights.

She's the new Audrey Hepburn. And, you know, she's not just a beautiful mannequin; she's a good actress and a pretty amazing public speaker as well. If folks are fetishizing her or "eating her black beauty" (whatever the fuck) that's their problem, not hers or mine.

Hopefully being the new Audrey doesn't mean that she has to make a string of iconic but slightly creepy-in-retrospect movies in which she plays romantically against gents twice her age (Bogart, 55 to her 25 in Sabrina; Cooper, 56 to her 28 in Love in the Afternoon; Astaire, 58 to her 28 in Funny Face; Cary Grant, 59 to her 34 in Charade, etc.). If her next role is opposite Harrison Ford or Morgan Freeman or Samuel L. Jackson or even Don Cheadle, I'll be very disappointed. But not too surprised.

Gabby Sidibe has her own thing and it's terrific too. She's a great talk-show guest (and guest host), for instance. Giggly as hell but fun with a mile-wide streak of mischief.

is she really symmetrical? because that's my fetish.

@4,

What kills me about Love in the Afternoon is that Cooper's part was obviously written for a much younger man. By casting Cooper in the role, Hollywood accidentally turned a story about a playboy finding true wuv into a story about a sad-sack, washed up old man finally settling down.

Also, unlike Grant in almost anything he did as an older man, Cooper acted, looked, and seemed extremely old in that role. I'm surprised he was only 56.

thanks, danielle.

will still love Nyong'o for her talent, grace & wisdom.... and extraordinary beauty.

and being enchanted by an actress is not de facto "granting of validation" ... just as admiring / liking / enjoying ANY human needs NOT be interpreted as expressing validation.....

I love how you sum it up in the last few paragraphs. "Transcending it, succeeding not in spite of"

Also, old news, but Gabourey Sidibe shoulda won the Oscar in '09. I mean, Sandra Bullock did a fine job in that movie "Blind Side," but Gabourey actually blindsided the entire world in "Precious." She was incredible and forever unforgettable in that film.

@4, On the contrary, fetishizing blacks is EXACTLY your problem.

I don't understant what this is about. Nyongo is an actress, and that's pretty much it. A young and beautiful one, which sets her apart from almost no one. It's not "Important ... that she is ... well and widely regarded" - she just an actress. She's just a walking talking sack of flesh like the rest of us - and like young, attractive hollywood women, grew up well privileged. If anything, this recalls The-One-Black-Person-In-School-Speaks-For-All-Black-People syndrome rather than any authentic admiration of Nyongo.

As anything but an actress, I'd describe her as completely non-remarkable (except for her distinct trans-atlantic accent)

also, @9; I never saw Precious; but I can agree that there was nothing special about The Bland Side. It wasn't even Argo.

I was not aware that anyone needed my permission to be beautiful.