Born in Mexico to Kenyan parents, Lupita Nyong'o had only recently graduated from Yale School of Drama when she bagged a role in a major Hollywood film.

Renowned director Steve McQueen auditioned more than 1000 actresses before setting his sights on Nyong'o and promptly cast her as Patsey in the big screen adaptation of Solomon Northup's autobiography 12 Years A Slave, also starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender and Benedict Cumberbatch. The release of the already critically acclaimed film is set catapult Nyong'o into the spotlight and her profile looks set to increase next year when the thriller Non Stop hits cinemas, in which she features alongside Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore.