**She’s got a wicked name **
Yep, although the 30-year-old actress is from a Kenyan family, she was born in Mexico so her parents gave her a Mexican name. Lupita is a derivative of Guadalupe.
She might be the best-dressed person, like, ever
There was the time she wore that canary yellow J. Mendel gown, or the bodycon (the good kind) Christopher Kane LBD, or the whimsical Miu Miu… and that's just to name a few. Her stylist is Micaela Erlanger, who’s also responsible for dressing Downton’s Lady Mary (IRL, obvs).**
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Her family are overachievers
Her dad, Peter, is a prominent Kenyan politician, and Lupita’s cousin Isis has been named as one of Forbes' most powerful African women.
She had a whiffy face growing up
Despite having the skin dreams are made of now, Lupita grew up with a skin disorder. Her mum treated it with medicinal herbs from Madagascar, which (clearly) did the job but according to Lupita, “Didn’t smell so good.”
Ralph Fiennes almost crushed her dreams
Lupita worked as an assistant on the Constant Gardener set during her summer break from college (as you do) and told Ralph Fiennes she wanted to act. Ralph responded with a sigh and said, “Lupita, if there’s anything else you want to do with your life – do that instead. Only act if you feel you can’t live without it.”
She used to have a (dead) pet snake
Snakes might be part and parcel of growing up in Kenya, but when a grey mamba was caught and killed in her house, Lupita decided to keep it. “I took it to school to science class and I put it in preservative, then from time to time I’d pick it out and scare people with it,” she’s said.
She lives in Brooklyn but is only part hipster
Lupita might love kale, but she’s not into too-cool-for-school music. “I like Drake and Lorde.” A woman after our own heart.
Pictures: Getty
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.