Lupita Nyong'o meets her idol, Sudanese supermodel Alek Wek

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share via Email
• Copy Link

  Link Copied

Lupita Nyong’o is having a stellar week.

The Oscar-winning actress recently landed the recognition of People magazine’s most beautiful person of 2014 and in doing so landed the cover of the popular magazine.

Nyong’o serves as an inspiration for countless girls around the world — she’s a remarkable combination of beauty and brains, and more importantly, she has used this to help uplift others.

But who inspires her? According to the moving speech she delivered at Essence’s Black Women in Hollywood event, Nyong’o acknowledged Sudanese supermodel Alek Wek to be one of her biggest inspirations.

“Alek Wek came on the international scene, a celebrated model — she was dark as night, she was on all the runways and in every magazine, and everyone was talking about how beautiful she was,” she said.

“I couldn’t believe that people were embracing a woman that looked so much like me as beautiful,” Nyong’o went on to say. “When I saw Alek, I inadvertently saw a reflection of myself that I could not deny.”

This week, during People magazine’s cover photo shoot, Wek stopped by to surprise Nyong’o, and it was a moment the actress described as a “dream come true.”

Watch a clip from their amazing meeting above and tell us your thoughts below.

Follow Lilly Workneh on Twitter @Lilly_Works